Where Do We Go From Here?
by Mutant-Enemy-730
Summary: PostRevolutions. What would happen if Neo did the same thing he did to Trinity in Reloaded on the rooftop? A story going down the rabbit hole, and into the unwritten future where lies and deceit live. Finished.
1. Intro

WARNING: THIS FIC TAKES PLACE IMMEDIATELY AFTER REVOLUTIONS. FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T SEEN THE MOVIE, STOP HERE. SPOILERS APLENTY.  
  
Disclaimer: I will be taking a couple of ideas from the Daredevil and Spider-Man movies. The ideas will be aimed at Neo's senses. So don't go yelling at me about it later. I'm telling you that now.  
  
Where do we go from here?  
  
The battle's done, and we kinda won  
  
So we sound our victory cheer  
  
Where do we go from here?  
  
Why is the path unclear?  
  
When we know home is near?  
  
Understand we'll go hand in hand  
  
But we'll walk alone in fear  
  
Tell me  
  
Where do we go from here?  
  
When does 'The End' appear?  
  
When do the trumpets cheer?  
  
The curtains close on a kiss god knows  
  
We can tell the end is near  
  
Where do we go from here?  
  
"Why do you persist?"  
  
"Because I choose too."  
  
And so it begins... 


	2. Let me go

Prologue:  
  
Once in a lifetime, you are given a chance to choose between throwing in the towel, and to keep on going. Some people will choose to throw in the towel. Others- won't. No other reason why than because they won't accept the end. Neo, battle scarred, is one of those. Knowing he could choose to lie on that metal grate in 01 for the rest of his life, or go home and try to live, Neo chose to live- no matter the pain or emptiness he would endure. The story, "Where Do We Go From Here?" begins at this choice.  
  
~~*~~  
  
Neo lifted his head slightly, pain swirling around his consciousness. Turning on his side to push himself into a standing position, Neo felt the platform he was lying on slow to a stop.  
  
"Bring me back to the Logos." Neo commanded. If it moved, something must be able to hear him. Feeling the platform shift and start moving in another direction, Neo kneeled down, holding his head in his hands.  
  
Moments later, the platform again stopped and Neo climbed off, his hand grasping nothing but air. Jumping in shock as a sentinel claw gripped his wrist, he relaxed as he felt it slowly move his hand until he felt the ship against his palm. Moving inside slowly, Neo clutched to the walls for support. He could hear the sentinel following him, almost as if it was making sure he'd make it. Finding the ladder, Neo climbed up the fifteen rungs- the amount he counted when he left- to get into the cockpit.  
  
Stepping off the ladder, Neo froze upon touching the doorway. He was afraid to go in. He knew that the only way he'd find the seat was by crawling on the floor so that he didn't trip, and if he crawled on the floor, he'd find... ~No. I will not think about that. ~ Shaking his mind of the thoughts, Neo kneeled down anyway. Crawling not more than a foot into the small room, his hand came upon Trinity's arm. Recoiling in pain and shock, Neo fell back on his butt. ~She's dead, there's nothing I can do to...wait. ~  
  
Recalling his conversation with the Oracle, Neo remembered that she had said that his powers as the One spread out into the real world. That was why he could stop the sentinels and the bombs. But, that also meant- if he brought Trinity back to life in the Matrix... Could he do it here?  
  
"Help me get these out of her. Be gentle." Neo spoke quietly, knowing the sentinel, still hovering and watching him, would listen.  
  
So the man and machine worked together to pull the rods out of Trinity that they could, and then Neo, with most of the work being done by the sentinel, pulled her body up and away from the rods that couldn't be moved. Laying her on the floor, Neo moved his hands over her chest. Placing his hand over her heart, Neo began to concentrate on making her heart pump, healing the wounds, and warming her body. Neo stayed in that position for God knows how long before collapsing on top of her, crying tears that could never be shed.  
  
Suddenly, the sentinel reared back screeching. Neo jumped up in shock, moving his head to listen. But his ears wouldn't give him an answer, but a warmth against his leg did. Neo moved his hand over the warmth, and gasped.  
  
"I was supposed to die." A quiet whisper stated.  
  
"I would've died without you." Neo replied, his other hand touching her face gently.  
  
"Everyone dies when their time comes, Neo. My time came. You have to be able to let me go." Trinity rasped.  
  
"You want to be dead right now?" Neo asked, cocking his head to one side. He could almost see her face from the sound her breathing was making. As if the sound waves were reverberating off of all objects to let him see.  
  
Trinity paused before responding, "I don't have much choice now, do I?"  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Okay, the first chapter is done. A little short, I know, but I want it that way right now. What do you think? I know a lot of people are going to yell because they should both be dead, but, hey, I couldn't write an interesting fic if they went to heaven. 


	3. Back home

More Buffy stuff. Thinking about having something for each chapter. Tell me what you think. A sad show to end, I loved it. Kinda like the Matrix trilogy- it's over and I loved it.  
  
Life's a song  
  
You don't get to rehearse  
  
And ev'ry single verse  
  
Can make it that much worse  
  
Still my friends  
  
Don't know why I ignore  
  
The million things or more  
  
I should be dancing for  
  
All the joy  
  
Life sends  
  
Family  
  
And friends  
  
All the twists  
  
And bends  
  
Knowing that  
  
It ends  
  
Well that  
  
Depends  
  
On if they let you go  
  
On if they know enough to know  
  
That when you've bowed  
  
You leave the crowd  
  
There was no pain  
  
No fear, no doubt  
  
'Til they pulled me out  
  
Of heaven  
  
So that's my refrain  
  
I live in hell  
  
'Cause I've been expelled  
  
From heaven  
  
I think I was in heaven  
  
"But I don't understand! I don't understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean, I knew her, and then she's, there's just a body, and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore. It's stupid. It's mortal and stupid. And, and Xander's crying and not talking, and, and I was having fruit punch, and I thought, well, Joyce will never have any more fruit punch ever, and she'll never have eggs, or yawn or brush her hair, not ever, and no one will explain to me why."  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Trinity, I- I'm thrown. Are you angry with me for bringing you back?"  
  
"No. I just- are we still in the machine city?" Trinity paused, her eyes taking in more of her surroundings. "Neo, there's a sentinel-"  
  
"I know. It seems to be helping me- probably to get me out of here. And yes, we're still in 01." Neo replied, his hand grasping Trinity's tightly.  
  
"Can we fly?" Trinity asked. Before Neo could answer, the sentinel screeched again.  
  
Neo turned to feel its claws grip his arm, pulling him up. Complying, Neo moved with it until he slid into his co-pilot's seat. Screeching again, the sentinel flew around, pulling Trinity's chair up. Trinity gasped when it wrapped its tentacles around her, but knew she had no strength- let along power- to fight. The sentinel placed her carefully in the seat before moving around, plugging some tentacles into various places.  
  
"What is it doing?" Neo asked, turning towards where he heard Trinity breathing.  
  
"I think- I think it am fixing the ship to fly. Neo, I need to rest, this is too much." Trinity breathed, losing her voice.  
  
"Do you need to be in the med lab?" Neo asked softly.  
  
"No, I can make it here. Just, let me rest."  
  
And so he did. Jumping when the ship shuddered to life, Neo felt wind against his face as the ship began to fly. He hoped towards Zion, but he wasn't in a position to judge. The glass in front of him had shattered when they crashed, and Neo quietly told the sentinel not to fly too fast but to fly towards Zion. It replied with a screech.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Sir, we have confirmation that the Logos is indeed flying towards Gate three. It's going unnaturally slow however."  
  
"All right. Get Morpheus, Niobe and Link down to Gate three, stat. Call a doctor too. Make sure there are two beds ready in the med bay." Lock commanded.  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
~~*~~  
  
"I never thought I'd see her again." Niobe commented as the Logos flew slowly down to the stable landing dock.  
  
"I hope they're alive." Morpheus murmured back.  
  
When the Logos landed, a collective gasp broke out upon seeing the ruined ship. The ramp opened, revealing a sentinel. Morpheus was the first to react, and moved forward. The sentinel screeched before flying back in. But before anyone could climb the ramp, the sentinel returned, carrying Trinity.  
  
"Oh my God." Link whispered, watching the doctors load her onto a stretcher.  
  
The sentinel waited to see her onto the stretcher before flying back into the ship. Returning with Neo, it slipped him out of its tentacles onto his feet.  
  
"Thank you. You can go back now." Neo's answer was heard by all watching, and it was even more amazing when it listened to him. All eyes watched the sentinel screech for one last time before flying back out of Gate three.  
  
~~*~~  
  
Two weeks later  
  
"How are you feeling Neo?" Morpheus asked gently.  
  
One week in the med bay and the second week resting in his and Trinity's room, Neo's eyes had healed considerably. The doctors told him immediately what he already knew- he would never see again, but as the One, his healing was amazing. Neo had, over the last week, begun to notice that all of his remaining senses were heightened. He could hear the softest sounds far away, could touch an object and be shocked by the feeling. He could smell who was in the room before they spoke, and his sense of taste- not yet tested, was most likely phenomenal.  
  
Neo had noticed one thing about his senses that had never been there before, and each day, he and Morpheus worked on it. Neo was shocked when he found that he could "see" things by sound from his heightened senses reverberating off of the objects. By stomping his foot, Neo was able to see the objects Morpheus placed on the floor, and to step around them, or even pick them up. The same action enabled him to see Morpheus' body, wherever it was.  
  
"I'm okay. I found something out last night." Neo replied, sitting up in bed.  
  
"Oh? What?"  
  
"I found that if I drop water on my hand, I can see it perfectly, as if I'm not blind. It's the sound. But I also found that I could make my hearing heightened. I tried it for three hours last night. I can make it so that I don't always hear everything at 10,000 decibels or whatever. I can make them almost back to the normal hearing I had before I lost my sight." Neo informed.  
  
"That's great. We were worried about how you'd be able to sleep."  
  
"Yeah. Hey, how's Trinity?" Neo question. No longer wearing a blindfold, Neo's pink-scarred eyes- still brown, but unseeing- created an expression of worry.  
  
"She'll be in the infirmary for a few more days before we bring her here. She died- and not just for a few seconds like before. You have to understand that her mind and body were physically and mentally dead for at least twenty minutes. She just recently was able to be warm without seven blankets. Now it's a waiting game to see how her mind is. I'm sorry if you want to be with her, but not right this second." Morpheus answered, sighing.  
  
"I miss her."  
  
"I know you do. Do you want to go for a walk? Get out of this room for a while?" Morpheus asked, moving towards the door.  
  
"Sure. If it gets to be too much for my ears-"  
  
"We'll come back, don't worry. Let's go." Morpheus opened the door, watching Neo slide on his boots.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Wow, this place got destroyed, didn't it?" Neo inquired upon entering the dock.  
  
"Yes. Can you see anything?" Morpheus asked nonchalantly.  
  
"Sort of. There's too much sound for me to see everything. I'm only focusing on ten feet ahead of me right now."  
  
"That's good enough. I don't want you to overwork your mind."  
  
Before Neo could reply, he turned his head, listening.  
  
"Kid's here. He just exited the elevator and is coming towards us." Neo informed his captain.  
  
"How? With all this noise?" Morpheus turned to look at Neo's face, curious.  
  
"I can smell him, and hear him. I've been focusing on smells and sounds of people too. I want to be able to know who everyone is as soon as possible." Neo replied.  
  
"Here he comes." Morpheus sighed, turning with Neo to meet the boy.  
  
"Neo! I heard what happened and I wanted to see you, but they wouldn't let me. I'm glad you're alive." Kid exclaimed upon reaching the pair.  
  
Neo smiled softly before reaching out a hand. Kid immediately took it, smiling.  
  
"I'm glad you are too. I heard about what you did. Good job."  
  
"Thank you. I better run. Lock wanted me to give him an update on repairs to the dock. Bye." Kid smiled again before leaving.  
  
"He turned out all right, didn't he?" Neo asked, turning back towards Morpheus.  
  
"I think many of us did." Morpheus smiled, clamping a hand onto Neo's shoulder.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Well, how about that? This is fun, writing in unknown territory. Weeeee! Review! 


	4. Overloaded senses

"Trinity, you want to try eating something today?" Zee asked quietly, sitting on the edge of the cot.  
  
"I guess so." Trinity slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, wincing in pain.  
  
"Careful, you might tear something." Zee cautioned, placing the bowl of goop in Trinity's hands.  
  
Trinity closed her eyes and counted to ten, trying to keep her sadness and anger in check. She was not a child, she did not ask to be treated like a child, but Zee was supposed to tend to the injured, and she was. End of story. Trinity listened to Zee's footsteps leaving the room before opening her eyes up to a warm bowl of goop. Warm- how shocking. Ignoring the male voice outside her room talking softly to Zee, Trinity concentrated on getting the food down. Swallowing a few bites, Trinity thought she might actually be able to finish her lunch today.  
  
It seemed her stomach had other ideas. Trinity wasn't six bites into the meal before she cried out Zee's name and leaned over the trash bin. Hearing boots walking swiftly from the door, Trinity barely remembered that Zee was wearing sandals that day before her hair was gently pulling away from her face and a hand rubbed her back. Lifting her head, Trinity felt dizzy, but focused on the face in front of her.  
  
"Neo." Trinity whispered softly before being enveloped in a tight embrace. Oh God, had she missed this.  
  
"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Neo stated quietly, kissing Trinity's neck.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"So, where do you want to walk today?" Neo asked Trinity from where he stood in the doorway. He had walked in using the vibrations from his echoing boots to guide him before seeing her feet moving silently on the floor.  
  
"How can you-? I mean, you have no cane, and you act as if you can see, but Neo, I've looked at your eyes, you can't." Trinity turned around, eyes wide in wonder.  
  
"I can't really explain it just- look, stick you foot out, as if to trip me."  
  
"Neo-"  
  
"Just do it." Neo commanded softly. "But don't make a sound, don't say a word when you do it."  
  
Neo paused before counting silently to five. Stepping towards where he knew her body to be, he tilted his head, focusing on the sounds. His foot came to rest just above hers before he stepped back.  
  
"I can see by way of sound. Sound waves vibrate off of everything. My senses are so strong that I can see those waves and thus see the objects around me." Neo explained.  
  
"How about your other senses? Are they heightened also?" Neo heard the catch in her voice. He heard the desire. It was uncurling within him also.  
  
Turning slightly, Neo called out to Zee. Upon hearing her sandals slap softly into the room, Neo asked gently, "Can she go home today? Is everything healed?"  
  
"Yes. She's fine, I was going to make her stay for another day, but I know you two well enough. Everything's fine, but if she experiences any pain, come tell me immediately. Don't play tough soldier, got it?" Zee stated, her eyes landing on Trinity.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
~~*~~  
  
The trek to their room had taken longer than usual, but it was to be expected. Upon entering, Trinity questioned Neo again.  
  
"Are your other senses heightened also?"  
  
"Yes. My sense of smell is almost scary, my taste buds make the goop taste good and my sense of touch, well...I haven't really experiment on a person yet." Neo replied, moving slowly to the bed to take off his shoes. He felt Trinity's eyes burning into his back like hot coals as he continued. "I've touched metal and walls and inanimate objects, yeah, and the touch is shocking. Then I touched a person- I hugged Morpheus and Link and it scared me. When I held you and kissed your neck the other day, I was feeling this, this overload of sensations. Almost too much for me to comprehend. I didn't understand it and," Neo paused as he heard Trinity's boots clank on the floor before seeing her feet move towards him. "And now, I don't care."  
  
"Good." Trinity commented, ending the conversation.  
  
Moving to straddle Neo's thighs on the bed as Trinity leaned in to kiss him softly on the lips. Hearing the shocked intake of breath, Trinity slipped her tongue into his mouth, clashing with his own before sliding her hands down his chest. Pulling his shirt off, Trinity felt Neo's hands come to rest on the hem of her shirt. Too fast for her to react, Neo moved in such a way that he could lay her down and move atop her. Pulling his lips from her for a moment, Neo whispered softly into her ear: "There's time. I don't want this rushed and I don't want to get a headache from too much at once."  
  
Feeling her tense body beneath his relax, Neo knew Trinity would try to take it slow. God how he wanted her right this second, but he was afraid of too much at once for his senses. Leaning down to kiss her neck, Neo traced a vein down to her collarbone before slowly pulling Trinity's shirt over her head. Feeling her hands come to rest on his pants, he allowed her to slide them off, gritting his teeth in agony. His hand slid down her side as lips met. An explosion he'd never experienced before of sliding his lips over hers, Trinity nipping lightly at his bottom lip as his mouth pulled on her top lip. Slipping Trinity's pants off, he heard her satisfied sigh before her hands grasped his waist, pulling him to her.  
  
Upon entering her, Neo paused, shaking his head. He felt Trinity's cool fingers move along his skull gently, massaging the throb away. His movements were slow at first, a little unsure, but as passion took over; Neo gave in to the sensations he was afraid of. Burying his head in her neck, Neo felt Trinity drag her nails up his spine as he rocked against her. Capturing his lips, Trinity sucked softly on his lower lip, pulling him down. Crying out in pleasure, Trinity pushed up against him as euphoria washed over the pair. Neo collapsed on top of Trinity, holding her gently. He could hear her heartbeat, could smell the very core of the woman underneath him, could taste the salty sweet skin. And he loved it all. By God, did he love it all.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
I had to get the sex into this. You guys know me well enough by now. I need to get them together. Hey, they deserved it, did they not? Trinity died- twice, Neo destroyed Smith, he went blind, among many other things. I say- all in favor of letting the pair get it on; say "They deserve it." All opposed: go stick it, just kidding. You can tell me that too. By the way, who would like it if I brought back that helpful sentinel? Tell me what you think. 


	5. Challenge the Commander

"Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping, waiting, and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir, open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us, guides us. Passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments, the joy of love, the clarity of hatred, and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes, more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow... empty rooms... shuttered and dank. Without passion, we'd be truly dead."  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Sir, the locks and doors are partially working. We have four bay doors in working order."  
  
"Good. Secure the doors in case of an attack." Commander Lock told the boy.  
  
"Do you really think, after everything that we have seen, Commander, that an attack by the machines will occur?" Morpheus asked, seeming to materialize out of thin air, his hands clasped behind his back.  
  
Lock visibly tensed up at the entrance of his rival. "We can never be too sure. These are machines we are talking about. They are soulless and incapable of human emotions. They could easily attack us again, and possibly defeat us in our injured state."  
  
"Tell me Commander, is there anything you believe in? A God perhaps? Maybe hope?" Morpheus inquired, moving closer. Lock knew there was a reason for this inquisition, but decided to go along anyway.  
  
"I believe in man's superiority. No God, no hope, no other belief. There is no need. If we have made it this far on our own, then I think we should be able to make it in the future without any religion."  
  
"I think Zion should be lucky that your ideas are not law, Commander." Morpheus commented, his voice level.  
  
"Why is that captain?" Lock asked, emphasizing the title.  
  
"If Zion had laws regarding your views, hope and belief, two things that have made humans get up each morning and keep going, would become nonexistent. That is something that, no matter what way you look at it, from any point of view, can never happen. Now, if you don't mind, I must be going. Good day Commander." Morpheus ended the conversation, silencing any argument and moving off- leaving Lock fuming.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Where have you been? I was looking for you in the infirmary, but Cass said she had no idea where you were." Link asked Zee, looping his arms around her waist.  
  
"I was tending to a few of the bombers who were injured while blowing up the drills." Zee replied, leaning into the embrace.  
  
"I heard you were one of those people."  
  
"I was scared to death doing it, but it made me feel like I was doing some good." Zee explained, not really sure how to.  
  
"I know the feeling. I got it every time Trinity or Morpheus or Neo went into the Matrix. Now baby, when's your next break?" Link asked, kissing Zee's neck softly.  
  
"In a few hours I get off my shift. I'll come home right away, okay?" Zee replied, turning her head towards Link.  
  
"All right." Link smiled gently before capturing Zee's lips in a soft kiss. "I'll see you then."  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Okay, so, where do you want to go?" Trinity asked Neo, her breath tickling the skin on his bare chest.  
  
"I'm fine right now, but later, I'd like to visit Roland and Niobe." Neo replied, his hand stroking her back.  
  
"You sure you want to see him after-" Trinity's question was cut off as the door to their room burst open.  
  
"Guys, get dressed, right now. That sentinel is back. And it's going crazy, screeching and everything. It isn't attacking anything, but Lock is afraid it will. If you don't go out right now, I'm afraid it may be killed." Link burst in, not noticing the state of undress of the lovers.  
  
As Trinity pulled the blanket up further around them, she couldn't help but ask, "And we should care about one sentinel because...?"  
  
"Trinity, it's the sentinel that brought us home. If it's killed, the machines might view it as a breaking of the peace. Come on, let's get dressed. Thank you Link, just hold Lock at bay long enough for us to get out there." Neo looked towards the sound of Link's voice as he sat up.  
  
"All right." Link turned on his heel and promptly left, allowing the pair to get dressed.  
  
As Neo reached out for his shirt where he thought it was, he remembered that Trinity had thrown it across the room.  
  
"Trinity, where's my shirt? Can you get it?" Neo asked, feeling a little ashamed at needing help in just getting his clothes together.  
  
"Yeah." Trinity moved across the room to pick the shirt up. Handing it to him, Trinity noticed the look on Neo's face. "Neo, don't be upset because you can't see. Don't be ashamed because you have to ask for my help. It's okay to ask for help."  
  
"I know, it's just- I feel almost helpless. And aside from using sound, my world is black. It's this whole black abyss that's filled with the sounds of life." Neo answered, sighing as he pulled his shirt over his head.  
  
"Neo." Trinity sat on the side of the bed, next to him. Taking his hand in her own, Trinity lifted it to her face. Neo's puzzled look dissipated as he slowly moved his fingers over the curves and contours of Trinity's face. Sliding a thumb along her nose and allowing fingers to dance on her cheekbone, Neo memorized Trinity's face by touch- allowing the visual memory to burn even brighter in his mind. Dropping his hand from her face, Neo slid his fingers down her arm to her hand, grasping it tightly.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Neo! Over here!" Link yelled upon seeing The One and Trinity exit the elevator.  
  
Link noticed that Neo had clasped hands with Trinity upon exiting and was allowing her to guide him over. When Trinity stopped in front of the operator, he only pointed above him to the sentinel flying around.  
  
"Has it done anything?" Trinity asked.  
  
"Not yet. Lock doesn't want to take any chances and has all guns in the area trained on it." Link informed her.  
  
"Tell Lock to have an immediate stand down of arms." Neo implored.  
  
"Tell me what?" Commander Lock asked, moving up behind them.  
  
Neo turned in surprise at the sound of the Commander's voice.  
  
"Stand down your arms. It thinks you're going to destroy it." Neo's calm voice commanded gently.  
  
"Just who do you think you are?"  
  
"I think I'm a regular person, but apparently I'm the One. This sentinel brought Trinity and I back here. Stand down and let me go out there." Neo's voice had an edge to it, one that both Trinity and Lock noticed.  
  
The Commander regarded Neo for a moment before nodding to Kid, who ran to tell the fighters to stand down.  
  
"Go on. You think you can handle a sentinel? Prove it."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Weeeee! Happy Turkey Day everyone!!!!!!! This was a fun chapter to write! And it's quite interesting that you guys have figured out that I'm a girl... wait, did I put that on my profile? No, I don't think so...hmmm. Oh who cares, you guys like my stuff and I love to write it. The rest doesn't matter. 


	6. A Rogue sight

Neo moved slowly, his hands grasping any object he could find to help him go forward. When he figured he was about fifteen feet away from Trinity- safe enough distance in case anything went wrong- Neo cocked his head to listen to the sentinel.  
  
"Hey!" Neo called out- immediately noticing the screeching had stopped. "Come here."  
  
Neo heard the sentinel's decent, and the murmured gasps of surprise from the observers. Stretching out a hand- Neo felt one of the tentacles grip his wrist.  
  
"Okay, if you can understand what I'm saying, squeeze my wrist gently once." Neo knew he was putting a lot of trust into this machine- hoping it knew what "gently" meant.  
  
For a moment, nothing happened. Neo was about to ask again when the tentacle squeezed his wrist- not too hard either. Sighing in relief, Neo began his questioning. "Okay, when I ask you a question, squeeze once for 'yes' and twice for 'no', all right?"  
  
Another squeeze.  
  
"Are you here following orders?"  
  
Two squeezes. Neo arched an eyebrow in confusion before continuing.  
  
"Are you a rogue sentinel?"  
  
One squeeze.  
  
"Are you here because you want to help humans?"  
  
Two squeezes. Neo couldn't stop the fear seeping into his mind.  
  
"Are you here to kill us?"  
  
Two squeezes. Neo dropped another question before realizing that the sentinel had no way of replying. "Then what are you here for?"  
  
Neo didn't expect a response- but he got one. The sentinel raised another tentacle and touched him lightly on the shoulder before letting out a quiet screech. Neo thought for a moment what this could mean before it dawned on him.  
  
"Are you here to help me and Trinity?"  
  
One squeeze. Sighing in relief, Neo turned to the others.  
  
"Guys, it's all right. He's here to help us. At least, he's here to help Trinity and myself. Morpheus, is there any way we can plug him into a computer and translate his screeches?"  
  
"Maybe, I'm not sure." Morpheus replied, coming forward.  
  
Neo felt the sentinel release it's grip on his wrist before moving in front of him to stop Morpheus' approach. Trinity saw this and immediately began moving forward. When she was in line with Morpheus, they moved as one- keeping the sentinel from doing anything.  
  
"Hey. When I ask you a 'yes' or 'no' question, can you nod or shake your head in response?" Trinity asked the sentinel.  
  
It paused a moment, processing the question to translate it into its language before nodding.  
  
"Good. Neo, we can't just yell 'Hey you!' to it every time we want it's attention." Trinity turned to Neo.  
  
Neo paused before answering. "You saying we have to name it?"  
  
"Oh yeah, like a pet! This should be fun." Link added sarcastically as he approached.  
  
"You have any better ideas?" Trinity asked, giving Link a glare. Link visibly shrank before shaking his head 'no'. "Good. Neo, I over heard you asking it if it was a rogue sentinel. How about that for a name?"  
  
"What, Rogue?"  
  
"Yeah. Seems to fit."  
  
"All right." Neo turned to the sentinel. "Hey. We're going to call you Rogue, so when you hear that, you should respond because we're trying to get your attention. Okay?" he asked. He felt his wrist being gripped before the sentinel squeezed it once. Neo could do nothing but let the smile grace his face- fast learner.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Trinity, could you come help Zee and I for a bit?" Link asked Trinity at breakfast.  
  
"Sure. Neo, you'll be fine without me, right?" Trinity turned to Neo.  
  
Neo sighed before responding. "Yes. I'm not incapacitated. I may not be able to see with my eyes, but I CAN see, Trinity."  
  
Trinity glanced at him for a moment before looking at Link.  
  
"Right. I'll meet you at my place, okay?" Link stood abruptly and left.  
  
Trinity watched Link's retreating back for a moment before opening her mouth.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing." Neo replied, taking a sip of his drink.  
  
"Something obviously is."  
  
"Trinity, do you really think I can't get around Zion without someone always by my side? Do you think the blind always have someone to help them? No. They do everything themselves because they aren't debilitated, they have the use of four other senses and all of their limbs. I have stronger senses, I can technically 'see'. I just don't like being treated as a person who needs constant supervision." Neo sighed, his rant over.  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I just thought- actually I don't know what I was thinking. I've never known a blind person and for the one person I love completely to be blind, it's something I need to get used to." Trinity rested her chin on her hand, explaining.  
  
"Just because I'm blind shouldn't change the way you feel about me, or even the way you treat me. It doesn't diminish the emotions and thoughts I have. I'm still me, just, I have to look at a black abyss for the rest of my life." Neo replied, his hand moving across the table in search of Trinity's.  
  
Trinity grasped his hand, gripping it tightly. "I love you. Nothing changes that. It's just- for the months that I watched you and these last six months, the one feature about you that always took me by surprise were your eyes. They were so expressive, windows to your mind and heart. I could look at them and feel pain transcending into me because I saw it in your eyes. Whether I knew what pained you or not, it would affect me because your eyes were so unguarded- trusting anyone who looked into them to not abuse the knowledge they drew from you."  
  
"Well, now it'll be facial expressions and my voice. Trinity, you may feel upset about me being blind, but you aren't. You can see the whole world. I only see in the Matrix or from sound. You don't know how alone I feel being blind. I'm forever enveloped in a never-ending darkness. The only color I see is from your voice and the feel of your body against mine. You make me see things so differently when we're together at night. Thank you." Neo lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly, knowing she was either on the brink of tears or smiling. It was enough for him to know she would always be there for him.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Okay, sorry for the long wait. I'm writing this HUGE fic for Neo and Trinity on the side. I have to write 50,000 words by December 31 and I'm only at about 4,500 words. Jeepers! So, if you guys have a long wait between updates, I'm sorry, I really wanna plow through this new fic. I promise, when I'm done with it, it'll be posted. MidnightBlues told me about the writing thing in the first place, and if you ask her, you'll get rave reviews of the story so far because she's my personal editor/reviewer- for-the-story. All I can say is that I really flesh out the relationship between Neo and Trinity. I'll leave you all with that. You won't see it until after December 31; consider it a present for the New Year. Anyway, tell me what you think about this chapter, and go check on a songficlet I wrote today! 


	7. He's like a child

"Nobody knows who I am. Not the real me. It's like; nobody cares enough to find out. I mean, does anyone ever ask me what I want to do with my life? Or what my opinion is on stuff? Or what restaurant to order in from? No. Underline. Exclamation point. Exclamation point, exclamation point. No one understands."  
  
"You think you know... what's to come... what you are. You haven't even begun."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~There are moments in your life when you make a decision, and at first, it seems like a good one. But then...Well, you kind of begin to figure out that the choice you made wasn't such a good decision. For example, you get your first goldfish, or fishes. Seems fun, cute even. Oh look, Pebbles and Rainbow are friends in the same jug...Oh no...Now there are sixty of them. The puppy ruined the rug...again. See what I mean? ~ Neo was broken from his reverie when a soft clank was heard at the door.  
  
Sighing, Neo pulled an extra blanket from the end of the bed around his waist as he made his way to the door. As his hand pressed against the cold metal, it slid down, searching for the wheel. Neo knew it was Rogue. It had to be. The damn thing couldn't stay away. It had a knack for knocking during more intimate events with Trinity. ~Probably because it hears sounds that aren't normally emitted...oh fuck it, it's just a machine. ~  
  
Opening the door, Neo felt the artificial light from Zion hitting his body and heard the now-familiar screech Rogue quietly let out when greeting him.  
  
"Hey Rogue. Something you want?" Neo asked, leaning against the doorframe. A quick screech was its' reply before it gripped his wrist, trying to pulling him forward. "Hold on, hold on. Let me get my clothes on before you pull me out. I doubt Zion wants to see the One's bare ass."  
  
Neo slipped back into the apartment, Rogue moving in behind him and shutting the door. Neo groped his way towards the bed until his hand moved across warm skin. Continuing forward, Neo found the edge of the bed and carefully moved Trinity's arm so he could sit down. Grabbing his shirt from where he had dropped it last night. Standing, he placed the blanket gently over Trinity before grabbing his pants, which were placed next to his shirt. Pulling them up, he heard Trinity stretch and sigh softly.  
  
"Hey." Neo smiled, turning around to her greeting.  
  
"Hey. Rogue dropped by for some reason." Neo placed his hand on the edge of the bed before reaching down to the floor for his boots.  
  
"I can tell. Hey, let me help." Trinity moved forward slightly. Neo sighed inwardly, but lifted himself up, one boot in his hand.  
  
"Trinity, I'm perfectly capable of..."  
  
"I know. Doesn't mean I don't want to help for other reasons." Neo could practically hear the sly smile that crept across her face. "Come on. Onto the bed with you."  
  
"You know how bad that sounds?" Neo grinned.  
  
"Shut up and do it." The smile dropped from his face as he obeyed silently.  
  
Leaning back against the pillows, Neo felt Trinity's hands grasp his foot before pulling one boot on carefully. As she started to pull the other on, Neo sat forward, his hand moving up. When it came to rest upon Trinity's cheek, she stopped. Cupping her cheek in his hand, Neo pulled her to him, his lips sliding over hers before laughing softly against them as Rogue made some sort of "machine" groan.  
  
"Should've left him outside." Neo murmured.  
  
"He's like a child." Trinity exclaimed, watching as Neo finished pulling his boot on before climbing off the bed. "I'll be down at Ghost's, all right?"  
  
"Yeah. Whenever this is done...I'll probably drop by Link's, he wanted some help on this new bookshelf he made." Neo heard Trinity's chuckle as he closed the door. Yes, Link building anything was something to laugh about. "All right, Rogue, what is it that you wanted to show me? Come on, let's go, and don't try to carry me around Zion. I use lifts."  
  
Shaking his head at the attempted innocent screech, Neo trailed his fingers along the wall, finding his way. When his foot bumped into some bag, Neo moved to the left, listening to find his way. He could hear several people talking about fifteen feet off about Rogue. Stopping, Neo cocked his head in their direction before smiling when the conversation came to halt. When he heard the lift's engine, Neo held out his hand, feeling the clamp of a claw around his wrist almost instantly. He could hear a few people inside the lift as he and Rogue moved in.  
  
Rogue had learned the hard way from Trinity that he was to stay as compact as possible when in the lift. His first time in the lift with her and Neo, he made more room by hovering overheard in his attack stance, but everyone else began screaming when he did it. Trinity had motioned for him to come down to her eye level before smacking him upside his metal head. So now, lesson learned, he scrunched into a small ball in the top corner of the lift.  
  
Rogue had pressed the level desired and they had begun to descend. Turning to the others in the lift, Neo held out his hand. One of them gripped it suddenly. Neo knew their eyes were pinned on Rogue, and could feel them shaking from the tightness of their grasp.  
  
"It's all right. He's here to protect me."  
  
"From what?" A man asked, definitely not the one who was clutching his hand.  
  
"The rest of his kind, anything I can't see or hear, I'm not quite sure. He's a rogue sentinel." Neo replied.  
  
"How do you know that it doesn't have a hidden agenda to kill you when you'd least expect it?" The man shot back.  
  
"I don't. That's where trust comes in." Neo replied calmly as the lift slowed to a halt. Feeling Rogue tug on his sleeve, Neo turned to the others, "Goodbye."  
  
"Good day." A woman said as he exited.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Okay Rogue, what's going on? Not so much as a screech from you since before the lift." Neo stopped walking, suddenly curious. Rogue's reply was yet another tug and a quiet screech.  
  
"Neo, I trust Rogue brought you here without any trouble?" Morpheus's familiar voice filled Neo's ears after just another few steps forward.  
  
"Morpheus? We're at the Hammer? Why?" Neo suddenly noticed where he was. Why his sense of smell hadn't picked up on before, he didn't know, but that didn't matter now.  
  
"We have received a message from the Oracle. She wanted to speak with you." Morpheus pressed a disk to Neo's chest.  
  
Neo's hand flew up, grabbing the disk, moving it in his palm.  
  
"Should you get Trinity?"  
  
"No, this is for you. There should be no trouble." Neo could sense Morpheus smiling and smiled gently himself.  
  
Allowing the strong arm to move around his shoulders, Neo was led up into the core of the large ship. Sinking into one of the familiar chairs, Neo awaited for the ship to leave Zion, knowing it would only take about two hours to fly out, talk with the Oracle, and fly back in. While the ship shuddered to life and began to leave, Neo heard Rogue fly into the core and hover above him.  
  
"Oh Rogue, go find a circuit to play with." Morpheus waved the sentinel away, gaining a loud, obnoxious screech as it left. "How are you feeling today?"  
  
"About as good as humanly possible." Neo replied, shrugging. "Do you know why she asked for me?"  
  
"I'm assuming it has to do with peace with the machines." Morpheus replied, leaning against the chair. Upon hearing a loud bang and an even louder screech after it, Morpheus sighed. "I'll go see what he's up to this time."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I know! I know! A LONG wait, but you've (hopefully) been patient. This was more or less just a laugh chapter. After writing a 50,000-word fic that had little sarcasm in it, I needed to get it out. Seemed to fit that Rogue would always be up to something. A well. I'm back, and with a new fic. Go check it out. Oh, by the way, the second Buffy quote before this chapter began is overshadowing...just thought I'd tell you now. 


	8. An unnerving talk with the Oracle

"Neo, why, isn't this a wonderful gift! To not only see you alive and, well, decently healthy, but also helping rebuild Zion! Blessings." The Oracle smiled, motioning for Neo to come further into her kitchen. "I've just recently cleaned up this place after the whole ordeal that I've gone through. How does it look?"  
  
Neo glanced around at the new wallpaper and tiles. "Looks good."  
  
"I'm sure you are wondering why I've asked you to come. Why don't you have a seat, this make take a while." Neo nodded before pulling the closest chair out from the table and sat down, placing his glasses on the table.  
  
The Oracle placed two mugs of something hot down on the table before lighting a cigarette and sitting down across from him. Pausing for a moment, both took in the other, the closed face of the One and the new, warm face of the Oracle.  
  
"All right. Neo, I'm sure you know that some things that happen cannot be undone. Some things happen for a reason and you cannot or should not change them, no matter what you desire."  
  
"What are you driving at?" Neo bluntly asked, furrowing his brow slightly at the Oracle's choice of words.  
  
"Trinity." The Oracle took a drag on her cigarette before pushing one of the mugs towards Neo. "Have a sip. Homemade hot chocolate." The Oracle watched as Neo glanced down into the cup before lifting it to his lips. "I know it's not real, but sometimes what isn't real is needed, even for some time. To help relax the mind, so to speak." Neo placed the mug back on the table, swallowing. "I know you're worried about her, and why I even said her name in the first place. Truth is, there are only two things that you live your life by, Neo. Zion's preservation, and Trinity. You have constantly had to choose between the two in a very small amount of time. Every time it was Zion, no matter what you truly desired. Tell me now, what was it that you wanted at every choice?"  
  
Neo shifted his gaze down to the floor, thinking of what words would best describe his reasons. Looking back up, he locked his eyes on the Oracle's. "I'm not sure what exactly, but I do know that it was always for Trinity. But I knew that love would always come second in this war. It had to if we were ever to survive to have love come first. Every choice I made pained me all the more because I wanted her, more than anything, but to have her, I needed Zion to survive."  
  
"You know that she would've made the same decisions as you. She had been in the war longer than you had even been searching for Morpheus. She knew a long time ago that she would always sacrifice herself if it meant the survival of the last human city. You couldn't, or rather, wouldn't accept that. That's why you brought her back the second time. You wouldn't accept that because just when love could come first, it would be taken from you."  
  
Neo swallowed audibly, his gaze hardening. "What are you saying?"  
  
"Neo, your powers expand into the real world, yes, but that does not, and never will, give you the right to play God. When you brought her back, you caused the first déjà vu ever to occur in the real world."  
  
"I didn't notice one." Neo furrowed his brows, confused.  
  
"She was that déjà vu." The Oracle paused, watching the realization dawn upon his features. "She wasn't supposed to come back. You changed the future."  
  
"Into something bad?" Neo inquired worriedly.  
  
"I can't tell. Not yet at least. Whatever the change's effects, they won't be noticeable for over a century after your death."  
  
"Was I - was I supposed to be with someone else when I died?" Neo looked down at his cooling mug, then back up at the Oracle's face.  
  
"No. You never would've recovered, but Neo, that is not the point. Love is one of the strongest emotions and driving forces in humans. Most need it to survive, but you don't. You need Trinity, and the fact that she wasn't supposed to live and you were had a specific effect on the future. Now, that's all gone to hell. Now, the future is unwritten, and the human race has you at the helm, believing in the one person who shouldn't be standing next to you."  
  
"What does this all mean then?"  
  
"It's hard to look past what most controls your thoughts and actions, isn't it?" The Oracle let out a short laugh before continuing. "Because you made a real choice, one that was unprecedented in every Matrix before this one, everything changes. Now, the future is just as blank now, as it was before the machines ever took control. Now, man once again, must walk blindly, as you know so well, and find his own way. Let's just hope that man's natural imperfections don't get in the way of their future."  
  
Neo noticed this was the end of the conversation and nodded once before standing. Grasping his glasses, Neo was about to put them on when the Oracle placed her hand on his forearm.  
  
"You have never been given a choice that didn't have two already known outcomes in your entire life. For 35 years, you were making choices to become freed, and for another 6 months, you made choices that would ultimately kill Trinity and make peace with the machines. The first chance to make your own choice, and it's for yourself. That is humanity's imperfection."  
  
"What's that?" Neo asked coldly.  
  
"Selfishness. Avarice. Whatever word relating to those two, and you've got what it is." The Oracle replied, watching Neo's eyes widen slightly before placing the mirroring mask over them and exiting without another word.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Okay, cruel? Slightly? I thought so, and perfect. Both you all, and I have no idea what'll happen next...Maybe Neo'll say something to Trinity...I doubt it, but hey, you never know. I know this was technically a short chapter, but I wanted it to focus on the talk with the Oracle. Tell me what you think. 


	9. Figuring the conversation out

"Who are you? How could you do this to me?"  
  
"We're not all gonna make it. You know that."  
  
"Yeah. Hey. Always knew I'd go down fightin'."  
  
"I'm counting on you... to protect her."  
  
"Till the end of the world. Even if that happens to be tonight."  
  
"Listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do... Give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. The hardest thing in this world... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Life's full of tough choices. Such a simple realization that ultimately rips all of t he layers away from your body until all that is showing is who you truly are, and what you truly believe in. Looking back on his life, Neo could easily say that the last real choice he made that didn't play out every choice he would make thereafter was when he took the red pill. ~Actually, if I really thought about it, that was the only choice I ever made. Every "choice" I made in my life previous to that led up to it, and every "choice" afterwards brought me to where I am now. ~  
  
Neo smiled softly to himself, his thoughts drowning out the fake reality around him as he walked towards his exit. So immersed in his thoughts, Neo didn't hear the approach of Seraph until he moved up beside him. The program's entrance was silent, waiting for Neo to start.  
  
"Yes Seraph?"  
  
"The Oracle wanted to tell you that some choices, even though they are made selfishly, could ultimately produce a positive end, but you left too quickly." Seraph replied solemnly.  
  
Neo stopped walking and turned to face the shorter man. Various replies shot through his mind, but all he could do was nod and turn to continue on, leaving Seraph behind.  
  
~~*~~  
  
Once back on the Hammer, Neo sat up, his mind running through his conversation with the Oracle. He heard the familiar screeching of Rogue when he was upset. Cocking his head to one side, Neo turned to face the general area where Morpheus was moving towards after taking his plug out.  
  
"What'd he get into that has him this upset?" Neo asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
Morpheus sighed before responding. "He zapped himself with one of the circuits that lead to the hover pads. One of his tentacles is now limp; I'm assuming that experience for him can be compared to novacain for us. What did the Oracle want?"  
  
Neo noted the blunt change of topic and nodded his head before shaking it. "To inform me of some things."  
  
"Some things? That's rather general." Morpheus moved closer to Neo, his tone skeptical.  
  
"Personal things."  
  
"Trinity?"  
  
"Yeah. Along the lines of the fact that I've disrupted some equilibrium by bringing her back to life. The effects of which won't be known for quite some time." Neo explained with a shrug, still not completely understanding himself. "Up until the moment I brought her back in the real world, I had only made one true choice, and that was to take the red pill. When I was given a chance to make another real choice, it was for myself, something that unraveled the written future. I'm not sure."  
  
"Trinity isn't supposed to be here then?" Morpheus surmised.  
  
"Something like that. Just when I thought the problems of us being ripped apart from each other were over..." Neo trailed off, letting out an exasperated laugh.  
  
"Both of your lives were never meant to be easy. The One is a singular person, not a pair. The fact that she was your reality, your life, upset the pattern, and the future. No one is perfect, not every choice is the right one, but we as humans can only look at the situation before us, and deal with it to the best of our ability. If that isn't good enough for the future, it doesn't matter. The future is unwritten, unknown. I prefer that it is kept that way." Morpheus clapped a hand on Neo's back pulling him up to stand before moving towards the operator's station.  
  
Link had left some time ago to fly the ship in and Neo, to his surprise, had been so focused on the conversation beforehand that he didn't notice the operator leave. After lifting the headset to his ear and asking for time, Morpheus turned to Neo.  
  
"We'll be back in less that forty minutes." A muffled clang reached both men's' ears. "I'll go see what he's done. Hopefully it isn't anything too damaging."  
  
"You know, he doesn't damage, more of accidentally plays too hard."  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Captain Morpheus, could you and your crew follow us to Commander Lock's?"  
  
Morpheus sighed inwardly at the man, but followed him silently. Neo felt Link's hand on his arm and moved in the direction Link pulled him. Stopping for a moment, Neo turned to Rogue.  
  
"Go back to my room. If Trinity isn't there, go to Ghost's. Stay with her. I do not want to find out later that you were scaring half of Zion by flying around to stretch your tentacles like last time." A resounding screech was the only reply before Neo heard the sentinel leave.  
  
The walk to Dead Bolt's office was relatively uneventful, aside from Neo overhearing a rather excited man find out that would be a father in nine months. The sound of the man yelling in happiness would be ringing in his ears for quite some time. Upon entering, Neo followed Link to stand behind and slightly to the left of Morpheus, awaiting Lock's reason for bringing them there.  
  
"Captain Morpheus, may I ask why you left the dock with one of only a few working ships without gaining clearance from me?"  
  
"The Oracle had asked to see Neo. I left to fulfill that request."  
  
"Which ship was out to receive the request?"  
  
Morpheus hesitated before answering. "The Fidelis, but you knew she was out anyway to check out the Matrix."  
  
"Captain, even though this war is seemingly over, I still need order. I cannot have any man jump on a ship and leave without running it by me first."  
  
"With all due respect," Neo broke in calmly, "If we ran it by you in the first place, we wouldn't be here because you wouldn't let us leave."  
  
"The Oracle won't help us, Neo." Lock replied coolly. "The future of humanity is in our hands now."  
  
"So it appears to be." Neo shot back, his voice level.  
  
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Lock's surprise and anger was the emotions that gave color to the sounds of Link and Morpheus turning to look at him.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Two weeks, yee Gods, how could I do that to all of you? One word: Midterms. Three down and four to go, joy. Well, a bright spot in the darkness of studying. Hope you liked. 


	10. Back to 01

Author's Note: As you have all figured out, I post a set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer quotes every other chapter. Due to a question as to which episode they are from, I'll add the episode title as well. Also, I've decided to darken the story in order to create a plotline. I'm generally a comedic an humorous person, which has been reflected in this story, but my best writing isn't when the story has a continuing comedy, especially for The Matrix. I hope I'm not beheaded for what I do in this chapter.  
  
Might as well respond (for the first time in my life) to reviews:  
  
Sci-freak GrodySpork: As to whether Rogue has something to do with Trinity's fate, the idea I have in my head would say "no". Then again, I make it up as I go along.  
  
Da Buffster: The first quote was Buffy to Giles in "Helpless." The second was Spike and Buffy in "The Gift." The third is Buffy to Dawn in "The Gift."  
  
trinity 666: I was a Buffy an Spike shipper until the groundbreaking episode "Seeing Red." Now, I merely like both characters as they are, separate.  
  
Onto the chapter...this took to damn long...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Neo what do you mean by that comment?" Morpheus inquired, seconding Lock's question.  
  
"Well-" Neo's explanation was cut off as one of the guards burst in.  
  
"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we've just obtained a transmission from the Poseidon. They received a message from inside the Matrix from the machines, asking to speak with Neo in 01." The man's face was flushed as he tried to regain his breath from an apparently long run.  
  
"Thank you Thaddeus." Lock cast his glace upon Neo's unfocused eyes. "Neo, take the Zenith with his normal crew to 01. Report back to me every other hour, whether something has happened or not."  
  
Neo nodded before exiting with Morpheus and Link. Walking down the hall, Neo grabbed Link's arm, stopping him.  
  
"Go to Ghost's, get Trinity. Morpheus, can you start up the Zenith?" Neo turned towards where his captain was standing.  
  
Morpheus nodded before remembering Neo couldn't see and replied quietly with a "yes."  
  
~~*~~  
  
"So he basically listens to only you and Neo?" Ghost asked, arching an eyebrow at the coiled sentinel, hovering in the corner.  
  
"And never gives us a moments' peace. But that's beside the...Link! What's going on?" Trinity and Ghost turned at the sudden intrusion.  
  
"Trinity, we're leaving on the Zenith. Meet Neo in your room." Link turned to leave, not bother to explain.  
  
"Ghost-" Trinity turned back, standing up.  
  
"No need to apologize. The war is merely on hold, not necessarily over. Take care." Ghost smiled softly as Trinity exited, Rogue on her heels, chattering quietly.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Neo, why are we leaving? Link told me nothing. I would like to- Rogue, get the hell out of here. For once, wait outside." Trinity's anger flared up as the sentinel pushed in behind her, almost knocking her over.  
  
The machine retreated outside quietly, a soft peep escaping as Trinity shut the door. Turning to Neo, watching him silently for a moment as he moved slowly towards the desk where their computer sat, Trinity sighed.  
  
"Neo, talk to me."  
  
"The Poseidon received a message from 01. They want to talk to me. Lock told me to take you, Link and Morpheus on the Zenith." Neo replied quickly, grabbing his back from the desk.  
  
Trinity nodded and grabbed her own bag from beside the candle stand.  
  
"Are you ready?"  
  
"You didn't even unpack yet." Neo murmured, a sad smile gracing his face.  
  
"I never do. Not really used to staying here long I guess." Trinity shrugged, walking the few steps to the door.  
  
Opening it, Trinity saw Rogue hovering a few feet over the railing. Upon seeing her emerge, Rogue moved back another few feet, letting out a series of squeaks. Neo exited the room and shut the door before motioning with his hand for Rogue to follow them.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"All right Zion Control, we'll see you in under a day, hopefully." Link murmured into the mouthpiece before shutting off the comlink.  
  
"How long until we reach 01?" Morpheus inquired, turning to where Neo was standing in the doorway of the cockpit.  
  
"I'm not sure. It was more than half an hour from where you left us. I didn't have much understanding of space and time on the way." Neo shrugged. "Ask Trinity, she drove."  
  
Morpheus turned further to see his second-in-command behind his chair.  
  
"Less than 20 kilometers, but more than 45 minutes. Add the amount of time it took you to get to Zion from where we parted to that." Trinity glanced out into the sewers that made up the real world as she finished. "Morpheus, I saw the sky. I saw the sun and the blue sky. It's there. It's really there."  
  
Morpheus' eyebrows rose slightly at the emotion in the woman's voice. No one that was alive now had ever seen the real world's sky.  
  
"What was it like?" Link asked, his eyes never leaving the dark expanse of tunnels.  
  
"Like nothing I have ever seen before in the real world. It was so beautiful." Trinity smiled at the memory.  
  
"Well, why don't we get something to eat and make sure Rogue stays put, this will be over and hour wait." Morpheus stood, smiling softly. "When we approach the site where we left you two, I'll send Trinity up here to guide you the rest of the way."  
  
"Yes sir." Link replied, nodding as the others exited.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Oh my God. This place is- I...holy shit." Link's eyes widened as Trinity guided the ship into the outskirts of 01.  
  
"Neo, come on up here, you can see better than we can." Trinity called over the intercom.  
  
Upon hearing Morpheus and Neo entering the cockpit, Link turned to Trinity.  
  
"Uhhh, Trinity? He can't see."  
  
"It's still as bright as it was last time. So much light." Neo broke in, allowing a small smile to grace his features before placing his hand on the back of Trinity's chair. "Over there. I can see the darker spot where the Logos crashed. Link, if you don't mind, I need to sit down."  
  
"What? Why?" Link protested, his eyes flicking to all three crewmates.  
  
"Just get out of the seat, Link." Trinity commanded, watching the Operator stand and allow Neo to sit.  
  
Buckling his belt, Neo turned to Trinity. "Do you think they'll attack like last time?"  
  
"No. They asked for us. Plus, we have peace." Trinity reasoned. "Over here?"  
  
"Yeah. A little closer, and watch the rebars. We can't risk ruining another ship. Morpheus, why don't you contact Lock now? Then we'll be all set until we leave."  
  
Morpheus leaned forward and picked up the headset. Tapping a few buttons, he furrowed his brow. Shaking his head he replaced the headset to its hook.  
  
"This city must be interrupting all transmissions."  
  
Morpheus and Link gripped the seats harder as Trinity lowered the ship to the ground with a rocking shudder.  
  
"Let's go. Rogue!" Trinity called out, standing.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Neo, there are, umm, what the hell are these things?" Link twisted around in a circle, watching a new type of machine, very small, much like a sentinel, jumping around him.  
  
"Whatever they are, they're everywhere." Morpheus replied, his eyes flicking from the ground to the back of Trinity's head in front of him.  
  
Neo stayed silent, Trinity and Rogue almost directly behind him, following his every step. As they came to the end of the pathway, Neo stopped, only a few feet from the edge. The others stopped further back, watching silently as a group of sentinels swarmed up, forming a face.  
  
"You asked for me?"  
  
"You have taken in one of our own that has been dismissed from our city. We have ostracized it, and you take it into your asylum! There are rules to peace and one of them is not to help out one of ours that should not be helped. It is considered treasonous to the peace." The group of sentinels spoke with a great thundering voice.  
  
"Rules? You agree to have total peace with us, and yet you still try to give us rules to follow? I don't think so."  
  
"It is written in your history, human. Humanity has it's own rules when two countries have a tentative peace. Are you going to tell me now that those are a lie?"  
  
"This is a new life for humanity, you should understand that. We live differently from our predecessors. Have you learned anything from reading our history?"  
  
"Silence! This machine was punished, and you went against its punishment of banishment. Machine 1020, come forward." The voice thundered, anger apparent in it's tone.  
  
Rogue squeaked quietly before inching forward. Once he moved past Neo, an electrical charge shocked through him, causing him to let out a loud screech. Morpheus, Trinity and Link winced, covering their ears. Neo stood motionless, watching the light in silence.  
  
"You broke your punishment of banishment by willingly going with these humans. You know the penalty for this."  
  
Rogue emitted another screech high enough to cause even Neo to wince and stumble back a step. Neo's vision of light blurred as the light surrounding Rogue brightened until he was forced to turn away. Trinity looked up at Neo before she clamped her eyes shut at the bright light of electricity short- circuiting Rogue.  
  
"Human. The One. There is a price to be paid for helping an exile." The voice thundered, allowing the crash of Rogue's lifeless metal shell to echo in the background from somewhere far below.  
  
Neo turned and stood, facing the "face." Shaking his head, Neo took another step forward.  
  
"We have peace. You have given the punishment where it was due. We did nothing wrong."  
  
"You should not have taken it 1020 in." The thundering voice growled before another shock of electricity shot out, hitting Neo.  
  
"Neo!!!!" Trinity screamed, only to feel Morpheus's strong arm wrap around her waist, pulling her back.  
  
Neo let out a pained yell as he felt the electricity shoot through his veins, and ~my God~ out of his eyes. Suddenly, the pain ebbed, before ending completely.  
  
"Go home human. We are done."  
  
Neo dropped to his knees, a hand over his eyes, his breath labored. "No. We are not finished here." Neo stood, keeping his hand over his eyes. "Get this into your minds, and get it into them now. We are not at war, and you are not in control of us. Not here, not ever. I suggest that you refrain from threatening us and doling out punishment where YOU believe it is due. It is not. There is one world, and we live in it peacefully, not with a monarchy. Now, you live your way, and we'll live our way." Neo turned, feeling Trinity's arm wrap around his shoulders, pulling him into her embrace.  
  
A growl from the group of sentinels was heard, but nothing was said. Neo smiled softly before being led back to the Zenith.  
  
~~*~~  
  
"Neo, are you okay? How do you feel?" Morpheus asked once Link was flying the ship out of 01.  
  
Neo was sitting on a table in the med lab, his head lowered. Raising it, he turned his head to Morpheus.  
  
"I'm okay, a little sore, but something's different I'm healed." Neo replied.  
  
"What do you mean?" Trinity asked, her face a mask of worry.  
  
"I can see."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Okay, don't kill me for Rogue. I needed to do something drastic. I hope you guys will understand. 


	11. Mind Control

"They'll never know how tough it is, Dawnie, to be the one who isn't chosen. To live so near to the spotlight and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes because nobody's watching me. I saw you last night. I see you working here today. You're not special. You're extraordinary." – Xander to Dawn in "Potential"

"I hate this. I hate being here. I hate that you have to be here. I hate that there's evil, and that I was chosen to fight it. I wish, a whole lot of the time, that I hadn't been. I know a lot of you wish I hadn't been either. But this isn't about wishes. This is about choices. I believe we can beat this evil. Not when it comes, not when its army is ready, now. Tomorrow morning I'm opening the seal. I'm going down into the hellmouth, and I'm finishing this once and for all. Right now you're asking yourself, "What makes this different? What makes us anything more than a bunch of girls being picked off one by one?" It's true none of you have the power that Faith and I do. So here's the part where you make a choice. What if you could have that power... now? In every generation, one slayer is born... because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. This woman is more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power... should be our power. Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny. From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer... will be a slayer. Every girl who could have the power... will have the power... can't stand up, will stand up. Slayers... every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?" – Buffy to the potential slayers in "Chosen"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What exactly do you mean by, 'I can see'?" Morpheus inquired, almost dropping the syringe he held in his hand.

"As in seeing objects, not just the sounds reverberating off of them. As in you are wearing a steel gray shirt and Trinity is wearing her gray knit top." Neo looked right at Morpheus.

"I always wear this Neo, you know that." Trinity argued, trying not to get her hopes up.

"Yes, that is true. I guess you'll just have to believe me." Neo shrugged.

~~*~~

"Neo, it's not that we aren't happy that you have your sight back, I just don't understand why the machines would heal you as punishment." Commander Lock reasoned, pacing back and forth in his chambers, Morpheus and his crew in front of him.

"I'm assuming they didn't do it purposefully. I don't know how or why, but I can see, because of whatever they did." Neo shook his head.

"I want you to go to the clinic right now and be checked out. This may be a short-term thing, or something with repercussions."

"Yes sir." Neo nodded before exiting quickly.

Once outside, Neo turned to Trinity.

"I won't be gone long."

"I would prefer it if I went with you." Trinity crossed her arms over her chest.

Neo watched as she did this and knew she'd be coming, no matter what. Nodding, he glanced at Morpheus and Link before heading towards the lift, Trinity at his side.

"Sir, may I ask you something?" Link turned to his captain, glancing at the backs of Trinity and Neo. "What if this has repercussions?"

Morpheus looked at his operator sharply before taking a deep breath. "Let's hope it doesn't."

~~*~~

Neo smiled softly, his eyes flicking from one person to the next. Trinity watched him out of the corner of her eye, and stopped dead when he reached out suddenly, gripping her arm tightly.

"Neo! What's wrong?"

"I don't know." Neo dropped slowly to his knees, Trinity guiding him down. Wincing, Neo shut his eyes tight, a searing pain flashing behind them. "It's my eyes."

"Oh God. Someone, get Doc!" Trinity whipped her head around, watching as several people ran off in the direction of the nearest clinic. "Stay with me, all right?"

Neo smiled through the pain at her command. Only when someone she cared for was in pain could she be even tougher than usual. Laughing despite his situation, Neo felt Trinity pull his upper body into her lap, cradling his head against her chest. Blinking, Neo attempted to open his eyes, only to grit his teeth and growl upon the pain shooting into his brain. His hand flew up to his eyes, rubbing them before he rolled himself from Trinity's grasp.

"Neo!" Trinity stood, moving towards him.

"Stay back. I don't want to hurt you accidentally." Neo held his free hand up, warding Trinity off.

He could feel the itch of something scratching his brain, as if trying to get in. _So this is my punishment_, Neo thought sarcastically. Again, he felt the itch; only it was joined with a stab of pain this time. Neo cried out once before dropping to his knees again. As quickly as it occurred, he felt the pain ebb. One bystander moved towards him, against Trinity's warning to stay back.

"Neo? Are you all right?" The man crouched down next to Neo's shivering body, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Neo's body stopped moving. In a flash, the man was against the wall, blood spraying from his nose. Trinity's eyes widened as the realization hit her- Neo had just used his powers in the real world to hurt someone. _But he would never do that unless..._ Trinity's thoughts trailed off, suddenly understanding what the machines had done to Neo. Neo stood slowly, straightening himself before slowly turning to face Trinity. His lip curled upward in a sneer as his eyes narrowed upon finding on hers.

Trinity looked around quickly, looking for something- anything- to stop him with. She knew he would overpower her easily now that his powers had seeped into the real world, and figured the machines knew that as well. Taking a slow step to her right, Trinity watched Neo warily as she moved towards some piping that was being repaired. The people around her moved away, staring in shock as the One moved in on Trinity. Trinity quickly leaned down, grasping a pipe, and pulled it up in an arch, slamming it into Neo's jaw as she did so.

Neo stumbled backward, before gripping his jaw. Snarling, he moved forward, connecting with Trinity's cheek before being slammed in the stomach. Trinity repeated the hit before connecting with Neo's jaw again and knocking him out with a hit to his temple.

This was all Doc saw as he arrived at the scene. He saw the male half of the lovers fall unconscious to the ground as Trinity stood above him, her lip bleeding, the pipe crashing to the ground.

"Trinity, my Lord. What is going on here, and if you tell me it's a minor dispute between couples, I'll put you in the stockade." Doc slowed to a stop before kneeling next to Neo's body, and checking for a pulse.

"Doc, just trust me to keep him sedated. I'm going to get Morpheus." Trinity cast one last glance at Neo's limp form before turning to leave.

"No, you're not." Doc stood, moving in front of her.

"Doc, let me put this in words that you will understand. Get out of my way, before you end up in a hospital bed too." Trinity watched coldly as Doc moved away and hurried off, hearing him gather bystanders to help him carry Neo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, has it been too long? Sorry, it's not that I'm losing interest, more of lack of time. My weekends used to be a haven from schoolwork. Then junior year arrived. This year is by far the hardest, so when I update, it's literally the best I can do. I'm probably not going to go too much longer with this story, 4-5 more chapters. I'm not sure. Anyway, feedback is always welcome.


	12. Storytelling

Okay this chapter is going to be confusing, I know. Bare with me. I had this HUGE blowout idea for this story and I really want to use it as soon as I could. For future explanation: Paz is the Spanish word for "peace," Narcissus is a Greek god in mythology, and Emmanuel is an old name for "hope."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Morpheus, I'm telling you, the machines did something to him. I want to go back to 01, I want to talk to those bastards." Trinity looked hard into her captain's eye, no room for negotiating.

"What happened exactly?" Morpheus calmly asked. _One thing at a time._

"He collapsed, something about pain in his head." Trinity shook her head, worry evident in every twitch of her muscles.

"Trinity, if what you say is true, then I'm not sure that you going to see the machines would be such a good idea."

~~~~~~~~

"Hold it. Hold it. Just wait one fucking second. Up until this point, everything you have been telling me is quite believable. But Neo being taken over by the machines? That's just fucking crazy!" a dark skinned woman around the age of twenty interrupted.

"Hey, Narcissus, do you think that my parents would tell me the story of their lives, and lie about it?" a boy replied, his temper rising.

"Emmanuel, why don't you go take a break from story telling and let me continue?" Paz smiled softly at Narcissus as her brother stood and walked out, his anger vanishing at the appearance of his younger sister. "I'm sorry Narcissus. I know that Morpheus and Niobe could only tell you so much about our parents' lives. I also know that most of the stories told about them have more fiction than fact. But he is not lying when he tells you anything about them."

"I'm sorry, it just seemed as if he wanted to show off or something." Narcissus smiled apologetically.

"He likes you, of course he's going to show off." The smile was returned before Paz spoke again. "When I was 10, my father brought Emmanuel and I into the kitchen, where my mother was already was waiting. They told us everything. I was always closer to my mother, some say because we were both female, others, because I took on many of her traits."

"You have. My father used to tell me all of these seemingly old, but actually recent, stories of The Trinity. He used to tell me how much you were like her. He would laugh when you would be dead set on doing something right, saying, "Just like her mother."

"You know, you're like your father in many ways, but I think you have more of your mother in you." Paz commented, hearing her brother ruffling through his desk. "Emmanuel, what are you looking for?"

"Mom's book of philosophy."

"You do know that Ghost gave her that to borrow and she never returned it?" Paz sarcastically commented.

"Yeah, I know. I figured that I'd finally give it back to him. Narcissus, if you don't mind waiting for the rest of the story, my sister and I have somewhere to go."

"We do?" An intent stare. "Oh yeah, we do! I'm sorry, Narcissus, why don't you come back tomorrow? I can make you some hot tea and we'll give you the rest of the story."

"That sounds great. Oh, remember, in three days they're unveiling the newest building. I can't believe that the above ground construction has worked so well. Anyway, I'll catch you guys later." Narcissus, stood and exited, allowing a small smile to flash in Emmanuel's direction.

~~*~~

Paz leaned down and placed a handful of flowers at the base of the granite monument. It was the largest monument in the village, the stone to make it taken directly from Zion. Standing, Paz backed up to where her brother stood, a graying Ghost standing next to him. Gazing at the sign chiseled into the stone, Paz smiled gently:

"Here lies the eternal resting place of mankind's' saviors.

May their memory live on forever.

Neo & Trinity"

"They were truly great." Ghost murmured.

Paz shifted her gaze to the elder man, watching the intelligence and sadness flicker in his eyes. She had always known, thought her brother would never believe it, that Ghost had loved their mother. Ghost was too much of a gentleman to admit whether this was true, but Paz didn't need him to say it. She could read it in his eyes, how he watched her and Emmanuel.

"Ghost, may I ask you something?" Emmanuel turned slightly, blue eyes gazing down at the shorter man.

_He has his father's height and his mother's eyes. _Upon nodding and smiling inwardly at his rambling thoughts, Ghost listened to Emmanuel.

"Did they ever marry? I mean, I know that Uncle Link and Aunt Zee were, as were Morpheus and Niobe, but did they ever?"

Ghost thought for a moment, although he knew the answer. Of course he would, he had been sworn to secrecy just for knowing. _They should know._

"They would tell you, if you asked either of them now, without a second's pause, that no, they hadn't. And in truth, they never really did. Trinity and Neo were built up into icons and heroes, and they knew that they did not need something to add fuel to the fire. But, that is, of course, a lie. They were married quietly with myself, Link, Zee, Cas, Morpheus and Niobe as the only witnesses. The marriage was never publicly acknowledged, so they were believed to have never married." Ghost paused, thinking. "You know, Trinity never dressed up often, but when she did, she was beautiful. She was absolutely stunning when she walked into the small cove where they were married. I remember Neo's jaw dropping slightly at the sight of her off-white dress. It was so simple, completely accentuating her body. I'm sorry, you probably wouldn't want the details."

 As Ghost turned slightly, Paz grabbed his arm, turning him towards her. "Please."

Ghost regarded her for a moment before cocking his head to one side. As Paz and Emmanuel slide in step beside him, he continued where he had left off. "Neo wasn't dressed elegantly, but that would never be expected. He was barefoot, as was Trinity, wearing a pair of tan, synthetic cotton pants. His shirt was white, or close to it. Zee and Cas had sown his shirt and Trinity's dress specifically. He was as cleaned up as possible, but I swear, he forgot the entire English language when your mother walked in.

"She was already five, maybe six months pregnant with Emmanuel, and she positively glowed. Anyway, the service began, and finished within twenty minutes, nothing fancy. A rather chaste kiss was exchanged, causing us to smile."

"Why?" Emmanuel broke in suddenly. At seeing the look Ghost gave him, he bowed his head slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Quite all right. We smiled because we all knew how much they were holding back just for our benefit. A meeting was to be held that evening at Temple anyway, so we all planned to meet and dance there. That was their wedding day. Neither of them, nor any of us were really ready for the real world without a war. Trinity probably took it the hardest, but was thrown into the role of mother quickly, so she adjusted fast. Neo, I believed, was at a loss for what to do. Ever since he was freed, he was told he was meant to end the war.

"Neither thought about what would happen after if they survived. A year after Neo first met with the machines to end the war, the war was finally over. Peace was given one full year before it actually came true. I still remember standing next to Trinity in 01 as she outright threatened the machines. I thought she would be killed right there, but they let whatever force they had on Neo go, releasing his mind for the last time. I seem to go on about things you already know, don't I? I'm sorry. Emmanuel, could you tell me the time?" Ghost smiled softly at Paz while her brother turned to look at the clock on the watchtower nearby.

"Quarter to three."

"It's that late already? My, I'm sorry, I really must be going. I promised Sparks that I would visit him today. Good day." Ghost nodded once before moving off towards the road.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Love it? Hate it? I don't care! (Shocked?) I was so psyched about this idea I had and I just HAD to do it. Up next, whether you want it or not, is Ghost and Sparks, the old men they are...just 25 years later. Also, the reason why Neo and Trinity are gone when they would only be in their 60s if they were alive.


	13. Nightmares

"What's going on? Something's going on."  
"Let's go outside."  
"No. Tell me what's going on."  
"It's... bad... news."  
"Well, what is it? What happened?"  
"It's bad. Please, can we-"  
"Where's Mom?"  
"Mom ... had an accident. Or, um... something went... wrong from the tumor."  
"Is she okay? Is she... but she's okay? But... it's, it's serious, but..."

-Buffy and Dawn in "The Body"

"Was it sudden?"  
"What?"  
"Your mother."  
"No. Yes. It's always sudden."

-Buffy and Tara about Tara's mother's death in "The Body"

Author's Note: To explain something: I won't change the story previous to this into italics because it was told as a story, not a flashback. Everything from here on forward will be a flashback, thus being in italics.

Teresa: a WiP is the shortened way of saying "work in progress," meaning I'm still writing it as I post it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ghost softly knocked on Sparks' door an hour later. The ride and walk to his friend's room in Zion had been uneventful, however, the new types of hovercraft were quite extraordinary.

"Come on in you old windbag." Sparks called through the door. As Ghost entered, he could only smile.

"I'm not old, I'm just withered." Ghost replied softly, shutting the door. "So, what are we going to do?"

"I was thinking of jumping into the lift and going to bug the hell out of Niobe and Roland. Binary says they're in the bar right now. Besides, I need to work my mojo on the new bartender." Sparks laughed, moving towards Ghost.

"You do know that she's getting a restraining order on you, right? She told me she's waiting for you to slip off your stool one day and hit your jaw on the bar." Ghost replied, exiting swiftly behind Sparks.

"Really? Wow, I don't a woman has ever said that much about me before. Now I really gotta talk to her." Sparks smirked, speeding up upon seeing the lift.

Ghost could only roll his eyes. Only Sparks would think it was a turn on when a woman thought he was repulsive.

~*~*~

"I know the pipe is bad, just hand me the hammer Paz and it will be fine." Trinity smiled softly at the wide-eyed 12 year old.

_Paz nodded and quickly handed the hammer to her mother, watching her carefully as she climbed onto the support beam, preparing to fix the pipe above her. They were fifteen feet in the air, working on one of the houses being made for families to live in on the surface. Neo was close by, but out of sight, something that worried Paz. Emmanuel was on the ground, glaring at his sister, his fear of heights keeping him on the ground. Their father would laugh when seeing Paz following her mother, doing everything without fear while Emmanuel would be more grounded, thinking out everything he did._

_Watching her mother give the pipe a good whack, she held her breath as the beam wobbled slightly. Trinity smiled at Paz, reassuring her of their safety. As Paz turned to look down at her brother, sticking her tongue out, she heard a splitting of wood nearby and only turned in time to watch her mother's eyes catch hers as she fell._

_"Mommy!" Paz yelled, scrambling down the ladder. Hitting the ground, she yelled to her brother, "Go get Dad! Now!"_

_As she tripped and fell, running towards her mother, she caught a glimpse of Emmanuel sprinting around the corner of a new house. Sliding to a stop on her knees next to Trinity, Paz grabbed her hand, tears in her eyes._

_"Mom? Mom, are you okay?" Paz's voice shook as Trinity opened her eyes, pain evident in them. "Mommy, you're going to be okay, you're going to get up and we're going to be okay. Right?"_

_Paz felt her throat constrict as Trinity squeezed her hand before her gaze became glassy. As she lightly shook Trinity's shoulder, she heard the heavy footsteps of her approaching father._

_"Trinity? Trinity! Morpheus, get a doctor!" Neo fell to his knees beside Trinity, Paz wailing next to him._

_"Mommy---"_

~~~~~

"MOM!" Paz awoke, drenched in sweat, Emmanuel's arms on her shoulders, obviously shaking her awake. Looking into his worried gaze for a moment, Paz sighed before pulling him to her.

"You had the nightmare again, didn't you?" Emmanuel question, not needing an answer. Nodding into his neck, Paz sniffed slightly. "Tomorrow, I'll bring you to the doctor."

"They can't do anything." Paz cut in. "They'll just tell me to meditate or something. Dad knew better than to bring me to a doctor."

"Dad, if you remember correctly, was a shell of a human after mom died. How would he have known what to do?" Emmanuel coldly replied.

"And you think you know better than him?" Paz challenged, her brown eyes burning into his.

Emmanuel held her gaze for a moment before blinking and looking away. No one needed to point out that she was the stronger of the two, even though she was younger.

"I want to talk with Niobe tomorrow. Maybe she could give me some advice. Now, go back to bed, get some sleep. I'm fine now." Paz watched as Emmanuel nodded and left before letting out the breath she had been holding. She wasn't fine, she was terrified. _How could a woman, capable of blowing up a building and killing ten armed men in the Matrix, die just from a weak beam? The wood was made from rock, metal and synthetic wood, how could it break when it was brand new?_ These thoughts had plagued Paz ever since her mother's funeral. Until now, she had no answers. _The only way it would break, would be if someone put it in wrong, or sabotaged it. But if so, who and why would someone do that?_


	14. Thinking back

Da Buffster: all answers will be written in time. Patience Grasshopper.

To everyone who thought the last chapter was short: I had the idea for a nightmare/flashback in my head about Trinity's death and I was leaving for Las Vegas. I didn't have time to write a long chapter, so I just did what I really wanted to get out.

~~~~~~~~~~

Fingers gripped the drawer handle and pulled, wrenching it free from the metal cabinet. No one had come down into the file level of Zion in years, and Paz's way of making an entrance included dropping a heavy drawer to the floor, almost crushing her foot, and accidentally breaking the handle off in the process.

"Shit." Paz knelt down, the overhead lights allowing her to look into the drawer.

As her fingers skimmed through the files and disks, frustration welled up. _It should be here. Where the hell is it?_ Finally, as she came to the end of the drawer, her eyes caught the name _Nebuchadnezzar_ on a scrap of paper. Flipping it forward, Paz saw the letters "Tri" on a disk, the rest obviously ripped off. Pulling the disk out, Paz flipped it over and smiled. _Dad could be very specific and so was Morpheus_. The small insignia of the Nebuchadnezzar's former captain was scribbled on the disk, telling Paz everything she needed to know. She had learned when she was younger that after the war, every captain was told to write a report on the Matrix life, freed life, and death of their former crewmembers. Apparently it was Commander Lock's last-ditch effort of keeping power within ranks.

Glancing down into the folder again, Paz's brow furrowed upon seeing her father's name written on the first disk. Upon pulling it out too, she saw Link's, and finally, Morpheus'. Placing the four disks on the floor, Paz began the process of lifting the heavy drawer back up. Sliding it into its slot, Paz slammed it in, only to have a disk that had been sticking up, pop back out as the drawer closed. Leaning over to pick it up, Paz was surprised to find it held information for the past trails held for a person who committed treason. As a thought graced her mind, Paz placed the disk in-between the others as she stood and exited.

~~*~~

"Hey Paz." Paz jumped at the sudden voice behind her.

"Niobe, how nice to see you." Paz smiled gently as she turned in her chair.

"What are you up to on this fine day? Holed up in the computer station and all." Niobe returned the smile before taking a seat beside Paz.

"I'm looking up the records of my parents." At seeing the smile vanish from Niobe's face, Paz pushed forward in an explanation. "Look, ever since I was12 years old, I have been plagued with nightmares, reliving my mother's death. I know for certain that she couldn't have died by accident."

"You aren't the first one who hoped that. And you are definitely not the first to go searching for clues." Niobe leaned back, her elbows on the armrests, bringing her hands together in her lap.

"What do you mean?"

"From what Ghost and Morpheus and your brother have told you, you believe that all of us, especially Neo, were wrecks after her death. This just isn't true. We didn't want to show you the truth when you were so young. You had been exposed to your parents lives since you were little, and this, well this we decided to keep you from." Niobe took a breath, thinking of how to form her words. "Not a week after Neo had been given your mother's ashes did he go to find out whether she had been murdered. He went to where you had been that day and checked the beams surrounding the one she had stood on. With Morpheus at his side, they found the cause of her fall. Small cuts and chips in the synthetic wood, as well as tiny pieces of earth covering a metal explosive. This explosive, however crude and small, gave off almost no explosion while still shattering the inside of whatever it was placed in, making it weak.

"They took all of this evidence to Commander Lock and the Council to have it analyzed. It was a work of art, made by someone who knew what they were doing without revealing themselves. We found no one who could've done it, but with the help of Sparks, Ghost and Link, we found some good suspects down in the bar. Now, while Sparks and Link kept Neo in one room, Morpheus, Ghost and I would question three, the others kept under the watchful eye of Lock's guards. After three-way questioning, no one was weaseled out. I thought Neo was going to cave in under all of the stress. He had gone through too much in such a short amount of time, I was genuinely worried about him."

"Yeah, but he had dealt with the machines attacking his mind..." Paz cut in.

"I know, but this was different." Niobe rebuffed gently, her mind wandering back to over twenty years ago.

~~~

_"What happened to me back there?" Neo asked, his eyes searching Trinity's face in the med lab._

_"The machines put a virus into your brain, which initially appeared to only give you your sight back." Trinity explained, tension causing her face to be tight. "Do you remember anything that happened?"_

_"No, not really. Just, telling you to stay away from me and then- nothing." Neo looked at Trinity curiously upon seeing her face relax at his statement. "Why?"_

_"We fought, and I had to slam a pipe into your head to knock you out." Trinity explained._

_"Ahh, well that must be the reason that my head is throbbing." Neo smiled softly._

_"I'm sorry, I-" Trinity began before Neo cut her off._

_"It's okay, I understand. How did they stop it?"_

_"They, as in the doctors?" Trinity asked, gaining a nod from Neo, "They didn't. I went back to 01 and, well, putting it simply, argued my ass off. Needless to say, I was scared shitless, but they didn't know that." Trinity smiled._

_"God, the war is over, can't this all stop?" Neo shook his head, his worry for Trinity's safety momentarily ignored._

_"Hopefully soon."_

_"I just want it to end. I want it over. Haven't we gone through enough?"_

~~~

"How was it different?" Paz asked, breaking Niobe's daydream.

"Well, he lost the one person that meant everything to him, and this time, there was no way he could bring her back. It had been years since he'd needed to really use his powers, and of course he hadn't forgotten them, but I don't know. Maybe he just didn't think of it."

"Wait a minute." Paz's eyebrows creased in deep thought.

~~~

As she cried beside the body of her mother, Paz barely registered her father's hand gripping Trinity's wrist tightly, his head bowed not in grief, but concentration. Upon hearing Morpheus coming around the corner with a doctor, Paz watched as Morpheus asked for Neo to try again.

_"It's not working. I'm trying, but it's like a wall has been built up and I won't be let in to heal her." Neo sat back on his heels, sighing._

~~~

"He did try to heal her, I remember. I just didn't know what he was doing when I was that young. He said that he couldn't, as if a wall was put up to block him from helping her."

"Are you sure?" Niobe leaned forward.

Paz nodded resolutely.

"Then, my dear, I fear that we are going to have to pay a small visit to the Matrix for this." Niobe leaned back again.

"The Matrix? I thought we only go in there to get the people who still live there out by now." Paz shook her head, not understanding.

"We do. We always have. But they can't stop me from going in, and they won't try." Niobe smiled, standing.

"Why's that?"

"Because for about eleven years, the surviving captains and council members have been trying to find out what happened to one of the best fighters in the resistance, and as of right now, you have found out the most." Niobe paused a moment, letting her words sink in. "Let's go."

~~~~~~~~

Sorry about the long wait. I've had a big case of laziness. I hope this was a little helpful in pulling the other part of the story together with this part. I intend to continue it in the further future, but with more flashbacks to where I cut off earlier.


	15. Hot flashback

I am heartily sorry for making you all wait so long for an update. Who would've known that the spring of junior year would be hell? I didn't, but, my AP exam is over, SATs are over, life can calm down slightly...right? Nah, too much soccer going on. So I will state here and now: until summer comes, updates for both my Matrix fics and my Alias fic will be few and far between. Well, my Author's Apology/Note done, let's get on with the fic!

_"I have a mission to win this war, to save the world. I don't have time for vendettas. The mission is what matters."_ – Buffy to Robin in "Lies My Parents Told Me"

_"Our spell. Our resurrection spell worked like a magic charm. We brought you back to life, Buffy. Right where we left her."  
  
_

_"Oh god."  
  
_

_"In her coffin."  
  
_

_"She had to... dig out of her own grave."_ – Xander, Willow and Tara re: Buffy in "Bargaining Part 1"

* * *

Paz watched as a rather grumpy, but still sarcastic Sparks plugged Niobe into the construct program from one of the few plug-in rooms left in Zion. Turning towards her, Sparks smirked before leading her to a similar chair, minus the crude spike that was, at that moment, shoved in Niobe's skull. After placing various electronic pads upon her temples and chest, Sparks fell back into the operator's chair, his fingers finding their way across the keyboard automatically. Shutting her eyes at a sudden wave of dizziness, Paz suddenly felt as if the world was falling away from her before finding herself standing next to Niobe in a white and empty room.

"Is this- is this the Construct?" Paz asked uncertainly, her fears quelled upon seeing the tranquil look upon the older woman's face.

"You bet your boots it is. Surprised?" Niobe smirked at Paz's amazed nod, "Well, with all the technological advances we've had recently, it's no surprise that a normally born person can now enter here. Morpheus didn't trust such types of advances, fearing for humanity's second demise and all, but I keep an eye on everything, just in case he would be right."

"So," Paz looked down, seeing herself dressed in a pair of clogs, cargos, a faded green tee, and a black pea coat, "should I be wearing this? I mean, you have on- well, practically red leather, an I- well; I look like a college student from the early twenty-first century. By the way, how the hell did you suddenly become almost thirty years younger?"

"Would you feel more comfortable in a more drastically different outfit than what the coppertops wear?" Niobe arched an eyebrow, fighting to keep a smile from her face while dodging the age defying question.

"Yes. Very." Paz nodded quickly before feeling a slight tingling sensation run through her body. Looking down a second time, she couldn't help but smile. Black leather boots, followed by black pants, a tight, dark gray, long-sleeved shirt and a knee-length leather jacket shifted the initial appearance of a humane girl to a tough woman. Looking up at Niobe, she caught her staring. "What is it?"

"You remind me so much of your mother." A moment passed in silence before Niobe continued, "Take that as a compliment."

"Oh, I am. Are we ready?" Paz smiled softly before shifting gears.

"Yes, just about. Sparks, give me a fully loaded, semi-automatic 35 mm."

"Only one? Since when did you grow a pear? This is the Matrix, you know." Sparks shot back, even as the handgun appeared suddenly within Niobe's outfit.

"When was the last time agents or sentinels were a problem?" Niobe replied before hearing the common grumble from above and then the sudden sensation of being thrown into the Matrix.

----------------

_A door slammed open, causing two bodies to almost fall into the room, but neither seemed to care. As a foot kicked the door shut, a child crying could be heard in the distance, possibly a few levels down._

_Boots are a necessity in the real world- there is too much debris and danger for feet to safely wander nakedly around. However, when it comes to sex, boots are the biggest pain in the ass there is aside from someone deciding to barge in without knocking. Amazingly enough, Neo and Trinity had learned in quite a short amount of time that the loss of boots is first on the list, always- mostly because they are the hardest to take off. This fact caused them to make the one and only rule when sex was involved- boots off first. This rule was never forgotten._

_Falling to the bed, Neo broke the savage kiss to kneel in front of Trinity, unbuckling her boots. After ripping his off and tossing them across the room, Neo rose back up, watching as Trinity grabbed the top of his pants and pulled him down. Crushing his lips to hers, Neo took in the salty sweet taste of her, the slight smell of sweat, grease, and that undeniable scent that was uniquely her own. Moving his lips along her jaw, Neo could feel her eyelashes fluttering against his temple, causing a shiver to race down his spine._

_Trinity's hands slide down Neo's back as his lips moved further down her neck. Grasping the ends of the shirt, Trinity pulled it up and over his head. Neo, obviously upset by being forced to stop kissing her, grunt slightly before moaning softly at the soft, yet strong hands sliding across his bare skin. Closing his eyes at the mixture of hot and cold on his chest as her lips grazed the skin, leaving a burning trail from one collarbone to the other. Sliding more firmly atop her, Neo leaned down, capturing Trinity's lips with his own in a searing kiss._

_Did the world move when they were together? Neither knew, but they were about to find out. A new connecting door to the room next to them squeaked open- neither Neo nor Trinity took heed. Nothing existed beyond the hot flesh, the warm touches, the loving looks, well, not until..._

_"Mommy? Daddy?"_

_They stopped mid-kiss. Pulling his head up from Trinity, Neo turned to his young son._

_"What's wrong Emmanuel?"_

_"My tummy hurts. Can you make it go away?" Emmanuel, about five, stood in the doorway, holding his stomach._

_"Sure. Go on back to your room and I'll be right in." Neo paused, watching as Emmanuel left, shutting the door quietly. Sighing quietly, Neo turned back to Trinity. He could feel her rapid heartbeat against his chest as he placed a soft kiss on her lips once more. Sliding his hand out from under her shirt, he placed another kiss on her bare stomach before standing. "I'll be back later."_

_"I know." Trinity smiled gently, watching as Neo pulled on his shirt as he went in search of his boots. "Neo, don't forget to check on Paz. I hope we didn't wake her."_

_"I will." Neo smiled softly before opening the door and exiting._

_-----------------_

"Paz! Paz, are you okay?" Niobe shook Paz one last time before her eyes finally opened. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. One minute I was looking at you in the Construct, ready to go in, and the next...the next..." Paz stopped, her brow creased.

"What happened afterwards? The moment I got into the Matrix here, you were already unconscious." Niobe had her glasses off, and was crouching beside Paz.

"I had this flashback that I never actually remember experiencing. It was of my parents, in a-more intimate moment, and my brother came in with a stomachache. That's all I remember." Paz shook her head as she slowly stood.

"Funny flashback. Maybe it has something to do with you coming into the Matrix for the first time." Niobe retrieved her glasses from the floor before standing beside Paz.

"Maybe...I don't know. You may be right."

"Only one way to find out." Niobe started moving towards the door, Paz not far behind.

"How?"

"We go visit the Oracle." Niobe pushed the door open, smiling at the look of shock upon Paz's face.

* * *

Looooooooooooong wait, I know. I'm sorry. I've had no ideas for so long. Well, this was an idea. Hope it was liked, the next chapter will be along soon.


	16. So confused

"This place feels strange." Paz looked around at the obviously unlived-in living room.

"Well of course it should, dear! Your parents stood there barely 20 years ago!" The Oracle slipped through the doorway leading to the kitchen and entered the living room. "Back when they came here however, this room bustled with life, now, not so much. Come on, let's talk."

Paz dutifully followed the older woman through the doorway, ducking slightly under the beads. Niobe slid in smoothly behind her, removing her glasses before addressing the Oracle.

"Oracle, Paz has been researching Trinity's death recently, and she's been able to find a few more things out."

"I know dear." The Oracle sat at an old yellow table and lit a cigarette. Exhaling, she cast her gaze upon Paz. "Take a seat, relax a little." Paz did as she was told, aware that Niobe merely leaned against the refrigerator. "Cookie?"

Paz allowed a small smile to appear before shaking her head 'no.' The Oracle glanced at Niobe who also shook her head.

"Well, I suppose there are a few questions to be answered."

"What happened to my mother?" Paz blurted, all manners thrown to the wind.

"Truthfully, I'm not quite sure, but I can give you reasons for her death." The Oracle leaned back in her chair and took a long drag on her cigarette. "The Architect, as I am sure your father told you about, was created to balance equations, as I was to unbalance them." Paz nodded. "Neo, as the sixth 'One,' broke the equation, forever unbalancing it. An affect of this change caused Neo's powers to seep into the real world. The way the Matrix was built causes everything to balance out eventually, but since Neo blocked that balance, in part by shifting to the real world, the Architect was forced to shift too. He decided to shift the real world similarly to the way Neo does to balance out his equation of the sixth anomaly. I would prefer to say that he caused Trinity's death, however his play in the matter is much more indirect. The Architect caused a ripple effect that would eventually affect people, who, in his opinion prefer chaos to perfection, to attack your parents. No one knows the true motivation for the murder, but it was the Architect's doing, albeit it took roughly 10 years, but the case remains." The Oracle paused to take a last drag on the cigarette before extinguishing it in the ashtray.

"So you're basically saying that my mother was killed by someone who- let me get this straight- had their mind influenced by the Architect?" Paz asked after a moment of silence.

"Something like that."

"What does that mean?" Paz replied sharply, her eyes narrowing.

The Oracle smiled softly before replying, "I would like you to know, that some things are not meant to be fully understood or found out. I don't even know the whole story, and I do not wish to. A great woman, who should've died in two instances previous to that, was killed. Don't you by chance think that fate may have played a hand in this? Keep in mind that everything your father did caused a rippling effect through both worlds. When he brought her back in the real world, Neo broke one of the cardinal rules of life."

"And what is that?" Niobe piped up, standing up straight.

The Oracle ticked her glance to Niobe before responding, "That death should not be fooled with. Humanity, as all of life, is a constant cycle. Where one thing begins, another ends. New life can only begin after the end of another life. Neo broke that rule in bringing Trinity back, and you and your brother are the result of a completely unbalanced equation. You and he are not like other people, and it is not just because your father was the One. It is because you were born of two people who didn't fit any equation or life cycle."

"What does that mean?" Niobe asked, her brows furrowing.

"That she is a new equation that forces the machines to keep peace. You think your name was given by chance? Neo knew what you would be and named you fittingly. Most of the still living survivors of the war look towards your brother, don't they? You usually fall towards the shadows." Paz's mouth dropped open before she nodded slowly.

"It is not the truth, however. The One's powers, which took affect after Trinity proclaimed her love to him, were passed on to you. Let me explain before you become too confused. As I said, Trinity and Neo caused the previous equations to be broken, and created two children, one of which had the powers of the One passed along to her through the essence of the woman that caused those powers to work." The Oracle paused, letting what she just said sink in. "Confused yet?"

"A little bit."

"You are your mother with your father's powers. That's what those visions and nightmares you've had mean. Your parents are more a part of you than just DNA."

"Wait, why didn't this happen to Emmanuel?" Paz shook her head, trying to understand.

"Breaking cycles causes everything to flip. Neo was a man, so his powers are given to a woman."

"But I'm not a pod-born."

"I matters not dearie. You are still the only living person who can protect humanity and force the machines to keep their peace agreement."

"Why, are they planning to going back on that?" Niobe interjected, moving forward a step.

"Niobe, Neo was the reason they gave peace. He is dead now, and they are seeking a way to oppress the humans again." The Oracle lit another cigarette. "Which means, that you," she locked eyes with Paz before continuing, "will have to stop them."

"Oh shit." Paz leaned back, her eyes wide. "Well that, uh, will I have to do what my dad did?"

The fear in the question caused the Oracle to smile and laugh softly, "Oh no sweetie, of course not. But you will have to learn how to use your powers before making a visit to the machine city. Now, why don't you two go, you've never even been plugged in before, and I'm sure you will be quite tired when you get back." The Oracle stood, ushering the pair out. "Oh and Paz?"

Paz turned around, feeling Niobe stop shortly ahead of her. "Yes?"

"You will be helped through this, you won't be alone."

"Thank you Oracle." Paz nodded once before following Niobe out.

* * *

See? New idea. What do you think?


	17. Looking for Dad

_"You guys, what is happening? This is crazy!"   
  
_

_"Oh, no, it's not. It's all finally making perfect sense and I'm not going to miss a moment of it." (Promptly falls drunkenly to the floor, missing the chair.)_

Buffy and Giles from "The Yoko Factor"

_"I have no speech. No name. I live in the action of death, the blood cry, the penetrating wound. I am destruction. Absolute... alone."   
  
_

_"The Slayer."   
  
_

_"The first."   
  
_

_"I am not alone."   
  
_

_"The Slayer does not walk in this world."   
  
_

_"I walk. I talk. I shop. I sneeze. I'm gonna be a fireman when the floods roll back. There's trees in the desert since you moved out. And I don't sleep on a bed of bones. Now give me back my friends."   
  
_

_"No... friends! Just the kill. We... are... alone!"_

Tara, Buffy and the First Slayer in "Restless"

_"Came back a little less human than you were."  
  
_

_"You're wrong."  
  
_

_"Then how come you're so spooked, luv? And why can I - do that?"  
  
_

_"You're wrong."_

Spike and Buffy in "Smashed"

* * *

Some days, you wake up, and within ten seconds, you wish you didn't. Other days...well, they can be a bit subtler. One choice, one movement, one slip, and everything can end up in the shit house.

Paz wearily sat up in the plug-in chair, nausea overtaking her. It was too much information to process in such a short time. Just too damn much. Groaning, Paz slipped out of the chair. As she prepared for the painful-blackness that would occur after her head hit the deck, Paz felt two pairs of arms grasp at her, stopping her mid-crash.

"You okay?" Sparks asked, his eyes wide.

Paz paused a moment, if she wasn't so sick, she would make a comment, but instead shook her head.

"Let's get her to the bathroom." Niobe looked to Sparks before they both helped her up.

* * *

Moments later, the lavatory door was kicked open, allowing Niobe and Paz to rush in. Sparks stayed in the hallway, shutting the door halfway for privacy. However, a moment later, a thought occurred to him- privacy from who, the crazy pipe people living the in faucets? Shaking his head before cringing at the sounds coming from within the lavatory, Sparks moved further down the hall.

Paz leaned her head against the edge of the toilet, listening as everything was flushed down. She could feel the heat in her face, and the cool hand upon her back, rubbing in soothing concentric circles. Sitting back, Paz collapsed in a heap, bracing herself against the stall wall. Looking wearily at Niobe, all she could do was blink. Anything more complex, and acid would come up next.

Niobe's eyes were soft as she allowed her first question to be voiced, "Feeling any better?"

A moment passed before Paz broke out in a grin, her head bowed and eyes closed. Laughing softly, she could only shake her head at the stupidity in the question. Sighing, she leaned her head back against the wall.

"I'll take that as a maybe before I continue." Niobe paused, waiting for any response. Receiving none, she posed her second question, "What are you going to do?"

Silence again met Niobe's inquiries. As Niobe sighed heavily, Paz placed a sweat-drenched palm on her arm, stopping her from standing.

"I don't know yet, but tell me this, did my Dad ever really die, or did you guys just do a major cover-up so that he could hide from the world?"

Niobe allowed a moment to pass before sighing and closing her eyes. Leaning back against the opposite wall of the stall, Niobe cast a long look at Paz.

"He knew what he was doing when he left. Not even the Oracle knew he was alive, as you could tell. When Trinity died, his world went with her. He loved you and your brother so much, but I don't know. Sometimes you cannot understand the choices people make."

"He abandoned us?" Paz asked, her voice quivering.

"That's how I used to look at it, but then I came to understand why he did what he did. The reason he was so strong, was Trinity. He knew he would have to confront the machines, and make sure they wouldn't try anything in case they knew he would never be strong enough to protect us again. Morpheus and I took you and your brother under our wing when he left, hoping he would make it. Taking his disappearance as a sign that he had done his job, we moved on with our lives. Now, hearing what the Oracle said, I'm not so sure he ever made it."

Paz blinked back tears as she absently spoke, "Every memory of my father is of a strong, loving and relatively quiet man. What you say is killing those memories."

"I'm sorry Paz. We do know that he's alive from the occasional Matrix coding mess-up when he enters the Matrix to check up on the world. He keeps an eye on it, and helps people learn the truth, which helps us get more out."

Paz's head snapped up. "When does he usually go in?"

"Not for two more weeks. He has a monthly entry, but Paz, no one, not even Morpheus, when he was alive, could find him inside the Matrix. He's a ghost."

"Only if you don't know his games." Paz smiled softly, remembering the hide-and-seek games Neo had taught her and Emmanuel when they were kids.

"What do you mean?" Niobe cocked her head to one side.

"I'll show you in two weeks." Paz smirked, "We're going in to catch him, or, at least I am. Until then, I need to learn how to fight in the Matrix."

Niobe warily watched Paz stand before shrugging and standing up. "All right, training begins tomorrow. For today though, let's go get some food."

* * *

"You're here early." Sparks glanced up from the consoles at Paz, who entered the main deck slowly, her arms wrapped around herself.

"Couldn't sleep." Paz replied quietly, "Never slept much anyway."

"Your dad was like that, though he had some sort of bad dreams that woke him up." Sparks replied, shrugging.

"Prophetic dreams." Paz nodded in agreement.

"Right, those quirky little buggers." Sparks smiled before his gaze ticked over Paz's shoulder. "Cap'n."

"Morning Sparks. Paz." Niobe smiled, placing a hand on Paz's shoulder before squeezing it gently. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah. I don't know if I'll catch him, but, I want to try." Paz smiled nervously before moving towards her chair.

"Can you even do this? Discounting that little trip to the Oracle, you've only been in the Construct, and for the last two weeks, training sims. What makes you think you have the ability to do what your father does?" Niobe inquired as she moved over to her own chair.

"We'll find out soon enough." Paz took a deep breath before feeling the world slip away from her.

* * *

Hard boot touched dusty cement. Paz, clad in a tight, all black, leather getup- much to Niobe and Sparks' comments about the similar styling choices between herself and Trinity- moved slowly to pick up the ringing phone.

"Niobe not coming?"

"No, she said she'd only slow you down." Sparks replied quickly.

Dropping the phone back in its' cradle, Paz walked up the stairs in the building she was in. Reaching the roof, she allowed the Matrix to course through her, trying to feel for her father. Niobe would later tell her that her code would glow a bright green when she did this, much like when Neo did something the Matrix couldn't comprehend. Nearly five minutes passed before a warm tingle shot through her left ring finger. Moving suddenly, Paz jumped down from the roof, landing beside a black Ducati in an alley next to her entry building.

She had learned quite quickly how to fight and move within the Matrix, and learned even faster the same things Neo had discovered over time. Kick starting the motor, Paz shifted gears and pulled out of the alley before jumping into and moving quickly through the midmorning traffic. As she felt the tingle get stronger, she took a left down a one-way street before parking quickly. Running up the stairs silently, Paz kicked in a door on the fifth floor. Immediately, a foot collided with her face, spending her reeling.

Slamming into a bookcase, Paz ducked the second kick and rolled before springing back up. Blocking an assault of punches and upper cuts, Paz finally landed a solid punch to the attacker's jaw, quickly followed by an elbow in the gut, and much to the amusement of Niobe and Sparks, a scorpion kick to the attacker's head. The attacker- now quite noticeably a male, in his mid thirties- retreated, his glass-covered eyes warily sizing Paz up. Paz stood and a defensive, yet neutral position, watching him.

"Who are you?" The man suddenly asked.

"You attacked me, I should ask you the same question." Paz replied quickly, jutting her chin out.

"I was protecting the man who lives here, I thought you would try to keep him from being freed." He replied, his voice level- no anger or suspicion in its' tone.

"You could always ask first."

"If you remember correctly, it was you that kicked in the door."

"I was looking for Neo." Paz replied.

The man was silent for a moment before dropping his hands to his sides, "You found him."

* * *

Long wait- I'm lazy. A lot of soccer crap has been surfacing lately, and I have just recently acquired the first season of Dark Angel, so, sorry again. I'm only promising a few more chapters; I need to finish this bitch up fast (bitch used in an affectionate way) before I accidentally turn it into one of those "never-finished" stories. Lataz!


	18. Like father like daughter

Author's Note: I am aware that some readers and/or reviewers are not happy with my current choice of plot (re: not aimed on Trinity and Neo). I'm am heartily sorry and will immediately upon posting this new chapter, take off their names as the two main characters to search for, for If any of my fics have taught you anything about my writing style, it's that I thoroughly enjoy writing a story around one or two people in love, namely, Neo and Trinity. It took a large leap of faith, and enough nagging in the creative part of my brain to come up with what is now the main story thread with Paz. Let me put it this way: either I would've done a really crappy ending to this fic many chapters ago, which I did not want to do under any circumstances. I always want to write something good, and the reason I didn't end the fic then, was because it would not have been even decent. My way of saving this fic was to flip it. If you have a problem with it, you may complain to me, as you have already, but keep in mind: I will not change my story to fit your liking. It is mine and mine alone; you just choose to read it.

Off of that issue, and onto other responses: any inquiries about me writing a Buffy or any other TV fic, this is my response: I actually started an "Alias" fic, the first 3 chapters are posted here, but I broke my rule when I did that, and I do not intend to break it again. My rule is that plots on TV are constantly changing, so I may write something one week that works, but the next does not. Also, I will not, ever, write a Buffy fic, for any character or pair of characters. Nor read any. My reason? I am completely happy with what they did and how they ended it, and I don't want to change it. Hard to understand? A little I guess, I just have this other rule: if I'm going to write fic based on a movie, TV show, or comic, I want to keep it as realistic as possible. That's it, I'm done, and this is the longest note I've ever written.

* * *

No amount of training could have prepared Paz for this. Her father, The One, was standing before her. She didn't know which was more of a shock: that he was alive, or that she hadn't recognized him. Then again, his RSI in front of her was younger and clean-shaven, not to mention all black and glasses threw off her last fuzzy memory of him.

"You're my- you're Neo?" Paz quickly jumped over the relation question, fearing how he would react.

"Why would you be so surprised?" Neo replied, cocking his head to one side before taking his glasses off.

"Last I heard you were dead." Paz quipped.

"Yet you come here, looking for and finding me. There's a loophole if I ever saw one." Neo shook his head at the statement, "Who are you, and why are you looking for me?"

"Who I am-" Paz's response was cut short by the shrill cry of her cell phone. Casting a glance at Neo, she quickly opened it, "Hello?"

Niobe's voice cut through the line, surprising Paz, "Paz, do not tell him who you are. Deflect his inquires by asking him about whether he made sure the machines will never bother us again. You must keep your mind unemotional, this is Neo you are talking to-"

"You think I don't know that?" Paz interrupted, only to be cut off.

"I know you know that, but he will very soon know who you are if you don't keep your cool. He will read your coding and see Trinity's."

"Why hers?" Paz hastily asked, her eyes jumping to Neo's confused stare.

"Because you are her, as the Oracle told you, only with a bit of Neo thrown in. Besides, when I look at these screens, I see her old coding mixed with Neo's, why would you think he wouldn't see that also? Just keep it calm." Niobe didn't wait for a response- perhaps her years in the Matrix training her not to- and hung up.

Paz nodded into the phone before putting it in a pocket inside her coat. Turning to face Neo once more, she titled her head to one side- much like he had only moments ago.

"When you left ten years ago," Paz swallowed, and could also see the pain his own eyes, "You went to make sure the machines never attacked Zion again. We have had no further knowledge as to whether you succeeded or not."

The unvoiced question settled thickly in the air for a few moments before Neo replied, "I did, but I don't think they will keep their promise much longer, I have been feeling them attempting to stop my entrances into the Matrix, as well as their newest virus to keep various minds inside. I'm sure the Oracle is voicing her concerns."

Paz opened her mouth to reply only to close it again, thinking over his last statement. "Why would you think that, or that I would know?"

"I don't, but she will be telling someone, most likely someone who was there at the end of the war, possibly Morpheus?" Paz averted her gaze at the name before swallowing audibly.

"Captain Morpheus died four years ago." Paz softly replied.

Neo hung his head at the news, "I'm sorry to hear that. May I ask as to how it happened?"

"Heart attack, of all things." Paz smiled ruefully at the idea.

"What about Niobe? Or Ghost, or Sparks even? Maybe Link?" Neo's eyes fully expressed his fear of the deaths of everyone he knew, the telling reason he always wore glasses in the Matrix.

"Captain Niobe has replaced him at watching over his duties, Sparks is still at her side. Ghost as well as Link and his wife Zee are all still around."

Neo nodded in understanding before speaking. "You would not know such things if you were not in some way connected to each of them. As such, I am assuming that Captain Niobe, as well as her Operator are in charge of this mission of yours to find me."

Paz heard her phone ring again but shut if off, somewhere in the back of her mind she knew Niobe would be making a comment about this choice later on, but she found it hard to care.

"They are not in charge, merely guiding me. It was my idea."

"Why?" Neo shook his head slightly, confused.

"Come with me." Paz cocked her head towards the door, before finally acknowledging the third man in the room. "He will return, I promise."

The man nodded before watching the pair walk out.

* * *

Arriving on the rooftop, Paz leaned her hands on the railing at the edge. Taking her glasses off, she allowed her gaze to look out at the digital city before turning to face Neo. Soft brown eyes met their maker.

"When I was younger, my parents used to tell me stories of their experiences in the war. I would be blown away by what they did. They sacrificed everything for the future of Zion, even their love. I was too young then to understand the concept of love, let alone what they felt for one another. It took me ten years to figure out how much they needed one another. Imagine that. Ten years to understand the simple act of devotion." Paz smiled softly before turning her gaze to the skyline.

"For ten years, I have been living with this sad memory of my mother, I would wake almost every night from a nightmare about this memory, and not until two weeks ago, did I know why. That same day, I found out more about my father than I wanted to, and I'm still recovering."

Neo furrowed his brow before placing a gentle hand on Paz's arm. He couldn't explain how much she made him think of Trinity, and it was painful to be reminded so much.

"You see, I came to find you to get some answers for questions I have had for ten years. But now, standing on this roof, seeing you as realistically as possible right now, I don't care anymore. I just want to stop those machines from ever reaching Zion again."

"Why do you need me?" Neo asked, not knowing the pain his simple question caused.

"Because it has been prophesized for me to stop the machines, and I don't know how." Paz replied, finally shifting her gaze back to Neo.

"Why would you be prophesized?" Neo smiled softly, trying to understand.

_"You're cuter than I thought. I can see why she likes you."_

_"Who?"_

_"Not too bright though."_

Paz shook her head at the sudden memory, her hand grasping Neo's for support, only causing another memory to surface.

_"You see that? It's Latin. Means 'Know Thyself.'"_

"Are you all right?" Neo asked, his hand strong in her grasp.

Paz ripped her hand from his, a sudden flash of multiple memories jarring her brain.

"Don't touch me." Paz whispered, causing Neo to pull back, hurt. "When you do, I can see memories I never experienced. They're yours. They must be."

"I don't understand." Neo shook his head.

"When they started, it was when I-" Paz stopped short, her eyes, wide with understanding, came to rest on Neo's face. "Oh God I can't do this, it's too fucking much."

Neo watched as Paz pulled her phone out and began to dial before grabbing it from her and moving away.

"Who the hell are you?" Neo inquired, watching as she simply stood, not wanting to make contact by accident.

"Look at my coding, then ask that question." Paz shrugged, pain in her eyes.

Neo did as she said, blinking into the coding. Seeing coding that he knew too well pulsating with a few fragments of his own, Neo quickly looked back at Paz, the coding disappearing.

"You're-" Neo stopped, not sure what to say.

"I'm the living embodiment of Trinity, my mother, with the powers of my father, The One, mixed in. I'm your daughter."

* * *

Paz sat up in her chair, her hand holding her head, forcing the tears welling up inside not to come crashing down. She had not waited for Neo's response to her statement as she grabbed her phone back and asked for an exit before promptly leaving him speechless on the rooftop.

"You okay girly-girl?" Sparks asked, draping a blanket over her shoulders.

"No, Sparks, I'm not." Paz felt the first shudder in her body before allowing hot tears to fall.

"Aww, you'll be okay." Sparks hugged her gently before seeing Niobe move around the computers, and took a step away from Paz.

"Just what did you expect to accomplish by telling Neo?" Niobe began, her fury barely leashed.

Paz hiccupped once before wiping her eyes and leveling a look she had inherit from her mother on Niobe. "I'm playing an old game he used to play when I was very little. I caught him in his game, and now, he has to catch me, only he knows I won't return to the Matrix."

"Meaning he'll have to come here." Niobe finished, nodding, "All right, why don't you go get your brother and my daughter, oh find Kid, Ghost, Link, Haze and Jupiter. Tell them to meet me in my quarters in two hours."

Paz nodded before feeling Sparks help her up. Smiling thankfully at him she exited the main deck in silence. Turning to his old captain, Sparks scratched his head.

"Do you really think he'll return? I mean, it is Neo, but, well, then again, it is Neo."

Niobe turned, her arms crossed below her chest. "He'll come, if anyone could make him come, it would be her."

* * *

Okay, slightly long wait, and also slightly long author's note. Any supporters of this story should take no offence. I'm going to try to wrap this story up within maybe, 2-3 long chapters.


	19. The Arrival

_"All this... it has a name. It's called guilt. It's a feeling, and it's important. But it's not more than that, Buffy... You've carried the weight of the world on your shoulders since high school. And I, I know you didn't ask for this, but... you do it every day. And so, you wanted out for one second. So what?" – _Willow in "The Weight of the World"

_"You have to be strong. I'm, I'm trying to-"_

_  
"Trying to, to what? Desert me? Abandon me? Leave me all alone when I really need somebody?"_

_"I don't want to leave-"_

_"So don't. Please don't."_ – Giles and Buffy in "Tabula Rasa"

* * *

It had been two hours since Paz entered the Matrix to meet her father for the first time in ten years. Her brother- after finding out what she had been up to for the past few weeks, was at first furious, but quickly understood, and was standing beside her in Niobe's quarters in Zion. Narcissus sat beside Ghost, who sat next to Sparks, while Haze, Jupiter, Link and Kid were surrounding the One's children.

"All right, I have brought you all here because Paz has just found her father, Neo, the One. Playing a cat-and-mouse game, we are hoping to cause him to come here. The Oracle has told us that the machines will try to attack us again, and Paz must stop them. I need all of you to help us prepare for a launch into 01, with or without Neo. Ghost, I need you to train Haze and Jupiter in the finer areas of the gun turrets. Sparks, you and Link are to watch the Matrix at all times for any chance that Neo will appear. Kid, Emmanuel, and Paz will come with me to prepare for Neo's arrival. Any questions?" Niobe raised her eyebrows, eyes scanning the group. When no one spoke, she nodded. "Good. Get to your jobs."

* * *

Paz sat in the room that had once been her parents' in Zion. They had moved to the surface when she was five, but the memories here were still clear. Sitting on the large bed that Neo and Trinity had slept together in, she felt a tear trickle down her cheek. The creak of the door caused her to look up in surprise, wiping the tear away quickly.

"Hey." Emmanuel poked his head in. "Mind if I join you?"

Nodding, Paz watched as her brother shut the door before moving to sit next to her. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he spoke softly, "I know I told you a long time ago to never try to find Dad, and I just want you to know, I'm glad you didn't listen."

"Thanks."

"Hey, it's me." Emmanuel smiled before rubbing Paz's arm. "By the way, I think Haze likes you."

Paz was nodded absentmindedly before snapping her head to face her brother's. "What?"

"Short attention span?" Emmanuel laughed softly, "Haze. I think he likes you."

"What makes you think that?" Paz asked nonchalantly- a cover of the delight within her. She had liked Haze since they met last year in the Temple at a dance.

"I'm your brother, and a guy, I know these things."

"Well, since you know those things, then I will tell you this- ask Narcissus out before she strangles you." Paz smirked at the shocked look on Emmanuel's face before continuing, "I know you like her, and she's told me quite a few times how much she likes you. Just do it already before Niobe notices and does something about it."

Emmanuel sat, dumbstruck before allowing a grin to spread across his face, followed by a chuckle rising in his throat. Shaking his head, he rose, pulling Paz with him.

"Look at us, brother and sister, telling the other which people to be with." A moment passed in comfortable silence as the pair thought over what he had said before Emmanuel took a breath and spoke again, "Come on, I was originally coming here to get you because Niobe wants to speak with us, so we should go before she goes on a rampage."

* * *

"Paz, glad you could make it. I would think you of all people would like to know that a small hovercraft was just recently picked up by one of the sensors by Zone 45." Niobe smiled tightly at the arrival of the siblings. "We believe it to be Neo."

"How long until he reaches the closest gate?" Paz inquired, all business.

"Two hours at the speed he's going. He's being damn careful not to be picked up by our scanners often. I guess he's trying for a surprise." Link answered from the consoles.

"Yeah, like that'll happen when entering Zion." Sparks rolled his eyes.

"All right, so we prepare, and keep it quiet. I don't want anyone to know about this except those who must." Paz looked around, a young, yet commanding voice sinking into everyone's ears. "Emmanuel, Haze, Narcissus, Jupiter, and I can ready a docking area in the old dock. No one lands there often- it won't be populated. Link and Sparks, keep me updated, Kid, I need you to go and get our ship ready."

Niobe smiled at Paz, it was impossible not to think of Trinity- or Morpheus for that matter. Swallowing quickly, Niobe moved her gaze to Ghost.

"Ghost, you and I are taking a trip to Zion Command."

* * *

"The is Zion command, we have received your ship codes, please enter through Gate 3 to Bay 12. Doors open, beds made. Welcome home."

"Thank you Zion command." A crackling reply from the small hovercraft cut through clearly before the ship moved towards its docking area.

Landing the ship carefully, Neo looked out the cockpit window to see a small group of people awaiting his arrival. Sighing, he knew this had to happen. He couldn't leave now; he would only ruin everything he and Trinity had ever worked for- at least, what was left from his departure. Standing, he entered the main deck and punched the exit ramp button, causing it to lower slowly- yet steadily. He took a breath before beginning his descent. _Here I go._

* * *

Paz stood at the forefront of the group with Niobe and Emmanuel flanking her on either side. The rest of the group stood in a small arch around them. All eyes watched the man who was known as the One descend from the bowels of the ship. Niobe couldn't help but see the toll that time and heartbreak had taken on Neo. His eyes looked more haunted than when Trinity had first died- perhaps from the guilt over leaving his children, only to return when they were old enough to no longer need him. His hair was slightly messier looking, but was that same length as it had always been, while his jaw and chin were covered in a mass of dark hair that seemed to have been left unshaven for more than three weeks. His frame- always thin- was slightly more filled out, and at the same time- almost skeletal. His clothes were in desperate need of repair or replacement, while his bag proved how little he lived on- wherever he lived.

Niobe could feel the stiffening in Neo's children's bodies and decided to take the initiative. Stepping forward, Niobe stuck out her hand. Neo looked down at it for a moment before shifting his bag to the opposite shoulder so he could clasp hands.

"Neo, long time."

Neo only allowed a ghost of a smile to grace his face before his eyes moved to Paz. In the real world, her similarity to Trinity was even more striking through her haircut and build. Paz kept her face vacant of all emotion as his eyes took her in. She felt her brother move closer to her protectively and broke the gaze her father had leveled at her to look at Emmanuel. His fury was barely controlled, it could be seen in his eyes, and was rolling off of him in waves. She understood his anger, and placed a hand on his arm. Their eyes locked, and the anger dissipated instantly, understanding her and respecting her silent wish with a nod. Turing to look back at Neo, Paz noticed he had taken all of this in, and now his eyes were focused on Emmanuel.

Silence reigning in the empty dock caused Kid to shift feet uncomfortably before moving around the group to Neo, "Neo, it's good to see you again."

Neo shifted his gaze to Kid, taking in the young man before him before his eyes widened in shock.

"Kid?"

Kid smiled and nodded- his hair had been kept short, but he'd allowed stubble to grow as he grew up. At 26, he had finally come into his own- and was a ranking officer in the corps to boot. Niobe, noticing the almost complete unease that was sifting through everyone, began to usher the group away from the docks to go to her quarters.

* * *

I know, this was a build-up fic. Kinda like the middle chapter of a trilogy, but I couldn't help it. Maybe more than just two chapters will go up... I cannot guarantee how few or many now though. Bear with me.

To reviewers:

LiMiYa: I hope this chapter answered some of your questions; the rest will come in time.

trinkid07: I too am attached to Neo and Trinity, but I changed the story because it needed a BIG change, or else it would've, well, sucked horribly.


	20. Breaking the Ice

Okay, school and soccer are so damn hectic lately. I have like, no time. But I'm trying. One thing to point out, yes, thank you for telling me that Kid's age seems off, it is, I added wrong. He'd be in his 30's now. I apologize. Anyway, go on and read the chapter.

* * *

"Wasn't life so much simpler when there was a war driving the human race?" Neo voiced softly, his eyes staring into the tin of water he held limply in his lap.

All eyes jumped from various other people to him instantly. The silence in the room had been uncomfortable and odd. No one knew what to say, or even if they did, how to say it kindly. Niobe swallowed audibly before replying,

"Yes."

The attention of everyone in the room jumped back to Niobe, a glaring question in their eyes, w_hy do you agree?_ Niobe shrugged off the looks before meeting Ghost's eyes. The tranquil understanding in his gaze calmed the nervousness in her stomach, and she remembered back to a time not too long ago when her belief in the shell of a man sitting before her was questioned.

* * *

_"You never believed in the One."_

_"I still don't. I believe in him."_

* * *

Niobe blinked, suddenly realizing that even Neo had flaws, and they could not shun him, nor truly hate him for his weaknesses. Moving across the room, Niobe grasped Neo's shoulder, jolting him out of his intent stare at the tin cup. Pulling him to his feet, Niobe leveled a strong gaze at him before speaking.

"I may not understand the full reason for your actions, but I do not care anymore. It was your choice, and yours alone. As I told you once, I will tell you again, no matter what, I believe in you." Niobe did not wait for any reaction- from anyone- before pulling Neo into a tight hug. Neo's hands flew to hold her back almost instantly in comfort and relief after years of fearing the dissolution and hatred of old friends and Zionists, which had wracked his already torn soul.

Ghost, Sparks and Link rose together and moved towards Neo. As Niobe released him, Neo allowed his upper lip to quiver in relief before being thrown into a bear hug by his old operator- who was quickly joined by Sparks on the opposite side. Upon being freed from the Zion-born men, Neo's eyes came to rest on Ghost- perhaps the final barrier in his quest for redemption before his children. Ghost's silent love for Trinity did not go unnoticed by him, and her death was equally painful for Ghost. Ghost looked at Neo for a moment, his face expressionless, the calm and tired gaze of a man who no longer wants to fight or hurt, but would prefer to live out his days for something, not because of something- namely, his anger at Neo. Neo relaxed upon seeing a soft, almost painful smile creep onto Ghost's face before embracing him.

"Brother, welcome home." Ghost said into his ear- the name reference an obvious expression of acceptance.

Neo nodded once to him before the older warriors backed away. Neo's eyes moved across the younger group- only a few he recognized. Kid moved forward holding out his hand, a large grin on his face. Neo shook the hand, surprised at the strength in it. Before he knew what he was doing, Neo pulled Kid into a hug, embracing the man who had looked up to him during the end of the war. Upon releasing Kid, Neo's eyes fell upon the blooming beauty that was Narcissus. He recalled just how mischievous she was as a child, and allowed a pained smile to grace his face before moving to clasp her hand.

"Uncle Neo." Narcissus smiled softly, the smile of her mother evident in her features.

"Narcissus, it is good to see you again."

"Likewise." Narcissus smiled again before releasing Neo's hand and backing away.

Neo's eyes shifted towards Haze and Jupiter, the only two people in the room he did not recognize. Titling his head slightly, he focused his gaze upon the deep olive skin and green eyes of Jupiter. A fierce warrior within the construct, and without, many had whispered that she could quite possibly be the next "Trinity." However, any hopes for that were squashed from Jupiter's mind the moment she moved to introduce herself to the One- Trinity's partner in all aspects of life.

"I am Jupiter, a friend of Paz's." The hand was taken and shook with a live grip from Neo- a surprise for Jupiter.

"Also the best damn fighter-in-training that we've got right now." Narcissus added, causing a few smiles to appear on the younger faces.

"And this guy is my cousin, Haze." Jupiter ignored Narcissus and continued with the introduction of the final unknown member of the group.

"Haze, I know that name but I do not know from where." Neo shook Haze's hand, his brow creased in memory.

"Ice, Captain of the Gnosis. You knew her." Neo nodded at the name. "She was my mother."

"Didn't she die in the final battle?" Neo cocked his head to one side in question.

"I was only a small child then. I stayed with some of her Zion-born friends during the battle." Haze nodded, his eyes lowering to the floor at the mention of her death.

"I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago, I only have fragments of memories of her, don't worry about it." Haze smiled gently before moving away.

Silence regained its power before Niobe moved towards the door, her eyes meeting everyone's but Neo's and his children's. Everyone but those three left quickly, more in fear of what Niobe would do if they didn't than of what they'd see if the stayed.

* * *

Emmanuel cleared his throat before looking at the man he should call "dad." Shifting his balance from one foot to the other, Emmanuel didn't know how to even begin speaking with this shell of a man.

"How does this work?" Paz began, her voice almost childlike in fear, but still adult through the lack of innocence in it.

Neo sighed. "I'm not sure."

"How about you start by telling us why you left us in the first place?"

"Em..." Paz cautioned, her tone weary, as if she had dealt with this more than once. "Please."

"He has the right to know." Neo replied softly, before placing his hands on either leg and pushing himself to stand up. He allowed his gaze to take in the both of them, seeing the similarities and differences before gesturing towards the bed. "Take a seat, the two of you. Please."

They sat side-by-side as Neo pulled his chair up in front of them. He allowed his eyes to shut for a moment as he prepared to begin.

"Shortly after I met your mother, we had a clash of opinions."

"We know, you two went into the Matrix to get Morpheus out, and wreaked havoc in the process. We know this." Emmanuel cut in.

Neo stopped to look at his son, daring him to speak again before continuing,

"She told me to go to hell first. I didn't want her to come with me, but being the woman she was, she would hear none of it." Neo stopped before adding, "Didn't seem to help any that she pulled rank on me either. Anyway, that's not the point. After that day, week, however long it was from the suicide mission to our ship being found accidentally by the Caduceus, Trinity and I had often tried to figure each other out. In the end, we came to a truce that she was always going to be slightly tough, save for privately around me, and I was always going to have trouble communicating. I will be the first to admit that she was always the stronger of the two of us. Which can be a bad thing, but think of it this way, if I had died, and Trinity had lived, she would've caved in on herself, but still stayed- for you two.

"I'm different. I wouldn't say she never made a mistake, but I made more, or it seemed that way. I didn't know her for the first 12 years of her freed life, so I can't say. I will never defend what I did as fair, I know it was wrong, and even when I left I knew it was wrong. I left however; to both sort my then chaotic mind out and also to escape. Outside the Matrix, I felt like I couldn't protect myself without Trinity around, and when she was gone...I lost it."

Neo stopped, his voice quivering. He forced himself to look at Paz and Emmanuel's eyes, seeing a mixture of confusion, anger and compassion.

"I don't know if I could ever be who I once was, not without her." Neo shook his head, running his hands through his hair.

The room was silent for a moment before Paz- casting a quick glace and her brother- stood and fully embraced her father.

"You've got me, dad. You can do it." Neo was taken aback before hugging her in return.

"Don't you mean, 'you've got us?'" Emmanuel added, before joining the pair.

Neo smiled fully, for quite possibly the first time in ten years; maybe everything was going to be all right.

* * *

Oh holy crap, the long update (sorry).


	21. Everything that has a beginning

Again, long time since the last update…but I won't go into details about this chapter or the last one. Just remember one thing, every Buffy quote I choose, I choose for reason that specifically relates to events within the chapter (just in case you didn't figure it out).

"Everything that has a beginning has an end."

_"Buffy... please... listen to me. You told me I had to be strong... and I've tried. But it's been so hard without you. I'm sorry. I promise I'll do better, I will! If you're with me. Stay with me... please. I need you to live."_ – Dawn in "Bargaining Part 2"

-----

_"It's just... I know I can't... on some level... it's like my opinion isn't worth anything because I haven't been through... I didn't lose my mom, so I don't know."_

_"Well... I-I'm not the expert. I mean, I've only lost the one." –_ Willow and Tara in "Tough Love"

_-----_

_"It is. You want her, Mr. Maclay? You can go ahead and take her. You just gotta go through me."_

_"What?"_

_"You heard me. You wanna take Tara out of here against her will? You gotta come through me."_

_"And me!"_

_"Is this a joke? I'm not gonna be threatened by two little girls."_

_"You don't wanna mess with us."_

_"She's a hair-puller."_

_"And... you're not just dealing with, uh, two little girls."_

_"You're dealing with all of us."_

_"This is insane. You people have no right to interfere with Tara's affairs. We... are her blood kin! Who the hell are you?"_

_"We're family." –_ Buffy and the Scoobies v. Mr. Maclay in "Family"

------

Life for Neo should've been over after the war-ending battle with Agent Smith, but no, something somewhere didn't think it was his time. _But it was! Trinity was dead, my reason for living gone. Why did I live?_ Neo's thoughts, a mangled mix of depression, pain and confusion, would plague his brain every day since he left. Now, with his return and acceptance into the group of people he called "family", the nightmarish thoughts had suddenly disappeared.

Sleep would only come to Neo in restless fragments. It may be because he was back in Zion, or possibly because he had been unable to get a sound night's sleep in ten years. Rubbing his eyes, Neo felt the old scars from the electrical burning he had endured so long ago. As he sat up, he could hear muffled sounds coming from the room next to his. Within seconds, he realized what was going on and smiled softly. Pulling on his boots and a second shirt, Neo exited his room. Walking towards the lifts, Neo couldn't help noticing how silent Zion was. What with so many people living on the surface, only the older soldiers- the ones who would never trust the machines' word, and would desire to stay in the most protected place- still resided within these caverns.

The ride up in the lift left Neo feeling disoriented, but he exited nonetheless. Turning to his right- and not truly knowing where he was going, Neo almost ran into Ghost. The each man looked the other over for a moment before Ghost spoke.

"Can't sleep?"

Neo allowed his mouth to twitch slightly before nodding, keeping silent.

-----

_"Still can't sleep? You wanna talk?"_

_"They're just dreams."_

------

Ghost cocked his head to one side, a signal for Neo to walk with him. As they began walking, Ghost continued.

"I remember, a long time ago, when Trinity could not sleep. She would lie awake at night, restless, plagued by dreams of a white light surrounding a man. It was only later on that she would admit that she knew this dream was of the One, because later on, the dream became more real. When she finally began watching you in the Matrix, the dreams went away."

Neo looked over at Ghost, knowing how painful a subject of this type was for him.

"Dreams are funny things. It is believed by many that only through dreams, can one truly understand themselves, for the conscious state is filled with confusion and imperfection. That is why so many decide not to question the reality that is the Matrix. They feel that, that world is safer than this world, even if it is a dream world. Then there are those who understand the consequences of waking up from their dream, and are willing to wake up, even if it is a much more dangerous world. It is the simple fact that they are awake that drives them past fearing reality."

As Ghost trailed off, they turned a corner, only to see a long, dark hallway ahead of them. Continuing their walk, Neo spoke, watching the floor before turning his head to look at Ghost.

"I know all of this Ghost, I have heard it many times from many people. Make I ask, what is your point?"

Ghost stopped walking, and waited for Neo to stop and turn to face him before replying.

"Sometimes people take the chance of waking up without thinking about the consequences. Those consequences may be short term, or they may not appear for quite some time, years even. The point is, if that person does not consider that there will be problems and pain and sadness in the conscious state because of the imperfection that is reality, then when something occurs that does hurt them, they will fear the waking state."

Neo narrowed his eyes slightly, but could only sigh. It was funny, to think that a choice made relatively quickly so many years ago would actually affect how good of a parent he would be.

"Ghost-"

"Neo," Ghost softly cut Neo off, wanting to finish, "I do not blame you for your actions, because I do not know what I would have done if I were you. I cannot judge you for fearing a world without the closest people to you, but I am saddened that you would not try talking to the other people that cared for you before you left."

Neo cast his eyes off into the shadows, his eyes unfocused.

"You wouldn't have understood."

"Why not? Because Trinity was not my partner or because I am not the One?"

Neo whipped his head around quickly, his eyes wide with shock and anger.

"Do you really think that was the reason for my leaving? Everyone knew I had visited the Oracle right after Trinity's death, and yet no one had even thought to ask her what had transpired while I was there?" Neo let his shoulders sag, shaking his head. "I would never have left my kids, ever, with or without Trinity. I love them too much."

Ghost pursed his lips, taking this in slowly, not completely comprehending how important Neo's abandonment had been to the bigger picture that was mankind's future.

"Then why did you leave?"

"Because Paz had to grow up without me. It was integral to her power as the future One that would fully unify all of mankind. It was so hard, to hear from the Oracle that Trinity had to die, it really wasn't an accident or plain revenge, but she had to die. We were never supposed to survive past the end of the war, I should never have brought her back in the first place, but once an action is done, it cannot be undone, so a whole new rulebook must be made, and Paz was the key to it. If I stayed by her the whole time instead of just her brother, then she would have been weaker for it. Trinity once told me that she was shifted around as a child, never staying in one home too long. Her mother died when she was two, and her father was always working, so she almost never saw him. She grew up alone, and you can vouch for it, you knew her longer, she was one tough woman."

Ghost nodded, a hint of a smile gracing his face.

"Yes, she was tough form the moment she was freed. She lived in the lesser publicized areas of the city with her father, working at a local auto repair shop, and she knew how to handle herself fine even without the combat training programs."

"So you understand, just how much she is like Trinity. It was the only way she would survive. That doesn't mean I didn't regret leaving every day of my life, I did, but every time I began to set a course for Zion, I would remember that last meeting with the Oracle, and I would stop. I was told that I would have to wait for Paz to find me. When I first left, I could never think of her being anything other than just a child, but now, as a young woman, I understand how she would be able to find me."

Ghost nodded in agreement before rubbing his chin as if in thought.

"Isn't it odd that the people we would never expect to waste their time on us, are so willing to give up everything to find us?"

Neo smiled softly, thinking of those that did just that for him: _Morpheus, Trinity, Switch, Apoc, Mouse, hell even Cypher- and now Paz._

---------

Sometimes there are moments where that dim ray of hope flickers, appearing to go out. It is then where you learn who you are, for only in the darkness, seemingly alone, can you consciously silence all thoughts, and find the hope within you. The minds in the Matrix will never know this, for fear of the problems they would face in the real world. They shudder and tremble, pulling away from the looking glass, too afraid to see the truth beyond it, for fear of being hurt. Those that do tumble down that rabbit hole into pink goo find the harsh world that is reality, and they face it, head on, whether they fear it or not. It is the notion of hope, which brings both happiness and sorrow with it, that makes the unplugged get up every day. Neo learned this a long time ago, and now, standing back in his room, not forty feet from either Emmanuel or Paz, he knew that, despite the sacrifices, sometimes, the choice that looks wrong, and you do not want to choose, is the one that will make it all right in the end.

----------------------------------

That is it; the end of the story…but wait, there's more! For I came into this fic w/ a Buffy song, and I'll be damned if I leave without one!


	22. Has an end

To all my readers: ado and many thanks for over a year to writing. I bow and say goodbye to the Matrix realm of fan fiction.

Always

- _Trinity-the-Goalie_

_-----_

_"Hope, it is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness."_

I touch the fire  
And it freezes me  
I look into it and it's black  
Why can't I feel?  
My skin should crack and peel  
I want the fire back

Now through the smoke  
She calls to me  
To make my way across the flame  
To save the day  
Or maybe melt away  
I guess it's all the same

So I will  
Walk through the fire  
'Cause where else can I turn?  
I will  
Walk through the fire  
And let it -

The torch I bear  
Is scorching me  
Buffy's laughing, I've no doubt  
I hope she fries  
I'm free if that bitch dies  
I better help her out

'Cause she is  
Drawn to the fire  
Some people...

She will...

...never learn  
And she will  
Walk through the fire  
And let it

Will this do a thing to change her?  
Am I leaving Dawn in danger?  
Is my Slayer too far gone to care?

What if Buffy can't defeat it?

Beady eyes is right, we're needed  
Or we could just sit around and glare

We'll see it through  
It's what we're always here to do  
So we will  
Walk through the fire

So one by one  
They turn from me  
I guess my friends can't face the cold

What can't we face...

But why I froze  
Not one among them knows

...if we're together?

And never can be told

She came from the grave much graver

So one by one  
They come to me

First, he'll kill her, then I'll save her

Everything is turning out so dark

The distant redness as their guide

Going through the motions

No, I'll save her, then I'll kill her

But what they find  
Ain't what they had in mind

Walking through the part

I think this line's mostly filler

What's it gonna take to strike a spark?

It's what they have inside

These endless days

She will come...

Are finally ending in a blaze

...to me

And we are  
Caught in the fire  
The point of no return  
So we will  
Walk through the fire  
And let it  
Burn  
Let it burn  
Let it burn  
Let it burn

_All quotes at the beginning of chapters, as well as all song lyrics, and every character I have ever written about in all of my many stories belong to Joss Whedon and the Wachowski Bros. (Not counting my original characters: ie: Tsunami in "A Moment of Understanding")_


End file.
